Asylum Seeker
by KiraLocket96
Summary: Ronegto/ little Rogan - Set after XM1 - Rogue's been kicked out of the X-Men and no one remembers her. One year passed and Rogue's in a bad place. The mystery still isn't solved of why the Professor has wiped everyone's memory of her. Only one person remembers her; Magneto. But why and what will happen when these two cross paths after Rogue shoots the president?
1. Chapter 1

**Hi - I'm just going through my story ATM and correcting little errors. I'm also read reading it, so I can maybe get ideas and do little stories to follow on after this one. These ideas were inspired by _Roguexvi_ and _Sionnaim_ and _Lear's Daughter_. If you like RogueXMagneto, then check them out because they do good stories about them.**

**Chapter One**

Rogue had no idea what was happening at first. She was having a quiet black sleep for once and was awoken by a harsh shake.

"Get up." Came the gruff voice.

"What?" Rogue breathed, turning around and wiping the sleep out of her eyes.

"Logan? What's wrong?"

"Quiet kid! Hurry up and get changed. Pack your duffle bag with clothes and anything you find valuable." Logan said a looking agitated.

"A trip? A trip where?" Rogue asked dumbfounded.

"Never mind where, just hurry up. Five minutes strips." And Logan left the room.

Rogue did as she was told, got up out of bed and packed a few casual clothes and underwear. Rogue didn't really see anything else she cold fit into the duffle bag (not her teddy bears or picture frames of her and her friends), so she just left them where they were. She wondered what mission the X-Men were going on today, or more like tonight as it was one in the morning. She found it strange too that Logan had personally come to her room and woke her up.

After packing a bag, Rogue was about to reach for her X-Men suit, when a voice in her head told her "No Rogue. Dress causally. You will not be needing your suit."

"Professor?" Rogue asked aloud. When she felt his presence leave her, she closed her eyes and rubbed them. Then decided to put on her jeans, a green tank top and a dark off the shoulders jumper. It was pretty chilly. She let her long long hair fall down her back and was satisfied with how she looked.

Slowly, Rogue made her way downstairs with the duffle bag over her shoulder. When she came to the ground floor at the bottom of the mansion steps, she found it strange that no one else was waiting ready with their own duffle bag. Rogue peeked through the Professor's office door that was hanging a jar open, seeing that there was Logan inside. Maybe it was just the two of them going on a mission. That would be nice. Some alone time with Logan, she thought.

Both turned around as they sensed or smelt her. Logan was the first to properly acknowledge her as he walked towards the door, opening it for her then stepping outside. As he passed he placed a hand upon her shoulder and, as Rogue shared a long glaze into his eyes, Rogue wondered why she could see sadness behind those dark eyes. He left. Rogue was left with the Professor.

"Rogue." He drew her attention and she stepped into the office more.

"Yes, Professor." She asked innocently.

"I'm sorry Rogue, but a situation has arisen and you need to leave."

Rogue raised her eyebrow. That was an unfinished sentence right? "OK, where'm I goin'? Who else is coming with me?"

"No Rogue, I don't think you understand. I am not sending you on a mission."

Was this a joke? Rogue thought to herself. The Professor's voice and cold eyes said different.

"W-What?" Rogue stuttered. "I, but, wait, what-"

"I don't have time to explain. Here, take this and go now, quickly." The Professor took something out from one of the draws behind his desk and through it on the table. Rogue looked at the envolop. It looked so alien and strange to her. Her eyes peered back up to the Professor. She had never seen him look so unmoved before.

"I..." Rogue tried, not sure what to say. The shock had taken her words.

"Leave Rogue and don't come back."

Rogue stood wide eyed, bewildered and hurt. "No one will remember you Rogue, if you return. No one from the X-Men will remember you. Not even any one from the Brotherhood. Stay away from all of us Rogue and go create yourself another life away from ours. Travel as far as you can until you can go no future and then walk on as far as you can. Leave my home Rogue, now."

Rogue's bottom lip began to shake and so did the rest of her body. "Wait, but, just leave like that? Vanish. Vanish without a trace. Without a single person knowing I even exsited? Why? What've I done wrong? Professor, this ain't like you. What's-"

"Do not tell me what I will or will not do. You need to leave now Rogue, before I ask Logan to escort you out." The Professor said harshly.

"What? Logan can't support your decision. He wouldn't. He-"

"Cares? Yes Rogue, he did, but he is my staff and will do as I ask. He woke you up and brought you down here. He knows what this is about."

"He knows, but I don't. Professor, what-"

"Leave Rogue. You are no longer welcome in my home. So leave now!"

Rogue was startled by the Professor raising his voice at her like that. He'd never spoke to her or any of the students like that. What was wrong with the Professor?

"Professor, please I just-"

"Leave now Rogue!"

The door to his office opened and in the doorway stood Logan, watching Rogue. Waiting. Rogue looked from Logan to the Professor, back and forth again. Why did they seem so distant and cruel? Why was she being kicked out? Why couldn't she even ask what it is she had done wrong?

"Let's go strips."

And those three words seemed to destroy every hope that this was some kind of hocks. She looked to Logan who sounded harsh and serious like normally. He wasn't playing games. He was holding the door open patiently for her, but she could see his patience was wearing thin. Rogue felt the tears heat her eyes. Feeling really small and vunerable, Rogue pulled on her duffle bag and slowly made her way out of the room passed Logan.

He walked her to the front door and opened it for her. It wasn't that bad a night. It wasn't raining or pouring, but it did seem colder than usual. Rogue looked to Logan one more time, but saw the same waiting look he had at the office door. Rogue swallow hard as she attempted to ask one more question.

"Where do I go Logan?"

Rogue thought she could see something within Logan fighting against the decision to kick her out of the mansion.

"Away." Logan finally came out with.

That stung a lot. Slowly, Rogue turned, looking forwards and stepped outside, passing over the threshold.

The door closed sharp behind her. Startled by the noise, Rogue turned to see the door close in her face. At last the act of keeping her head held up high in front of the Professor and Logan were starting to die as realisation set in when she turned an saw the Xavier mansion doors locked.

"_Leave my school Rogue._" Came the Professor's sudden stinging words in her head. Rogue closed her eyes and tried to catch her breath.

The next time she opened them, she turned away from Xavier mansion and began her journey down the stairs, towards the front gates. Rogue stopped as she neared the gates, turning to look one last time at the mansion and take in all the detail she could before she crossed the gates. The Professor's commands echoed in her head again and her steps were little as she passed the gates. Quickly, she turned round to see the large iron gates closing on her. The final lock in the key. She was offically kicked out of Xavier's school for mutants.

The beginning of tears she had been holding began to escape her as one rolled down her check only to be meet with the first droplet of rain that fell from the sky.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

_1 year later_

Magneto had a frown upon his face. Anger raged through him and all of his Brotherhood members backed away, and left him. They knew he wanted to be alone. He was silent, but still dangerous as any one wrong move could mean a life lost. What Magneto dreeded had finally happened and a war was beginning. The Sentianal robots had just been revealed on the news. They were to find and round up unlisted mutants, imprisoning them in detention camps.

In his rage Magneto worked his hardest, plotting and thinking for hours how he could get back at the humans for rounding up his people in camps once again and killing them.

He was just planning assassinating the president as he knew he was the major power body behind the camps, when there was a knock at his door and a woman stepped in. She gave her reports and Magneto dropped his plans of assassinating the president to read over the information.

A top secret and highly secure _'prison'_ had been built. Magneto knew what this was and knew it was a cover up for a mutant death camp. Magneto puzzled over what to do, assassinate the president or rescue the trapped mutants? In the end he decided he could do both and send a team of mutants to break out the other imprisoned mutants. He would select a team to plot and destroy the camp firs and then he would continue with his plot to assassinate the president while this team dispatched and served the cause.

_2 weeks later_

Magneto had been angry and frustrated he couldn't just kill the president straight away due to last minute changes to the presidents schedule. He had given Pyro the mission of freeing the prisoners which happened about a week ago and went down sucessfully, but it had influenced in altering the president's schedule. Magneto had to redo his entire plan, but at last, he had found an event where he could kill the president and made plans for it.

He had a small group of his Brotherhood stir up trouble and went after the president while the Brotherhood kept the X-Men busy. He would have to work fast if he was to prevail. Atlas, he came to the room which had the president locked inside. He easily killed the guards outside of it and as soon as they were dead all fell silent. Until he heard the begging of one man.

"No, no please. Don't kill me!-"

A gun shot fired and no more was said. Magneto ripped open the door, curious to know who had been shot. And there, he was suprized to see a familiar face from he hadn't seen for about a year or so ago stood in front of him. Her arm outstreched with a gun in hand, shaking. She was staring down at the dead body of the president. Magneto took in the scene before, before speaking.

"Well, this is a suprize."

She turned around and he knew just by looking into those grey emeralds that this was not the same girl he had meet a while back. This girl was skinnier and very pale. Her bones could be seen sticking out from her thin clothing as she looked practically half alive. Her hair had been cut short. Very short as her hair looked like it was beginning to grow back from being completely shaved off. Magneto remembered her long beautiful hair that danced in the mind. Now it was just a wild mess on her head, that may ruffle in the wind, but would never be the same. The girl before him looked shocked, surprised of all sorts, but at the same time there was vengance and almost relief in those wide eyes of hers. Those eyes allured his with it's mixture of confused emotions and other sensations he was not yet sure of what were tucked away in those eyes. He wanted to know more of what lay behind those eyes. More of how she got her new look and her new attitude.

She looked at him strange as she took in his presence. It looked like she was seeing a ghost, but that soon faded and she looked behind him, seeing all the guards dead. The girl took this opportunity to escape. She exchanged a look of warning with Magneto as it told him to let her pass. He didn't stop her physically, but as she walked down the corridor Magneto couldn't help but need to question her and the actions behind her shoting the president.

"I wouldn't think Charles would approve of your actions here Rogue, so maybe you would be able to enlighten me as to what your game is?"

Rogue froze in her steps. Slowly, she turned to face him, a look of confusion on her face. Magneto found it strange how she stared at him with enlarging wide eyes almost... heartbroken.

"Your not with the X-Men anymore, are you?"

Her eyes were still wide, taking him in as if she had never seen him before in her life. As if she had never seen another person before. Magneto raised his eye brow at Rogue's reaction. It led him to more questions and a deeper desire to know the answers behind Rogue's story.

"Well?" Magneto questioned. "I haven't seen you with them over the past year. Are you with them, or not?"

Rogue just looked at him dumbfounded, turning more towards him. She seemed absolutly petrified, yet amazed. This was beginning to annoy Magneto.

"You...You remember me?" Rogue practically whispered.

What an odd question to ask, Magneto thought. He felt confused and he hated being confused.

"Yes, my dear. It is a little hard to forget almost killing you as it is to forget your touch."

Magneto folded his arms and glared at the little patch of white in her hair. It wasn't a long strip of white anymore, but the hair piece still grew and fell around Rogue's check. Yes, how could Magneto forget his failure of killing her and succeeding in his mission when it seemed she would forever be walking around with that white strip of hair he'd given to her through trying to kill her.

Something very strange happened next. Rogue began to attempt to smile. It was an awkward smile as if she had forgotten how to smile and it kept falling to that confused, disbelieving look. Rogue became light headed and suddenly had to lean against the wall before she collapsed.

"You...You remember me?" She breathed out quickly as her breathing had increased.

There was that odd statement again. Magneto was very confused to this reaction. He shouldn't have been experiencing this feeling, but he was a little bit worried and concerned for the girl's state, not just of health, but of mind. More so as a theory of what may have happened to her came to mind. He shunned that idea however, feeling it wasn't right. But what had happened to her to make her seem happy to have her once murder remember who she was?

"Why do you seem so suprized that I remember you?"

Rogue didn't answer the question. She seemed in too far a place to even hear the question.

They were both drawn back into reality as the sound of running and shouting. Both turned to see that the X-Men, Wolverine, Storm and Iceman had arrived. They all looked shocked to see the president's dead body lying on the floor behind Rogue and Magneto. Then they turned to face the two terrorists stood near the doorway.

"You!" Wolverine spat, extracting his claws, his eyes focused on Magneto. Then his eyes moved to Rogue. "And you too!"

Magneto followed the Wolverine's glare to Rogue who looked almost like a cowarding animal. The last time he had seen them together, they had been a close pair. The Wolverine had almost died for the Rogue, yet here he was giving her glares that wished her dead, ready to kill her in one throw of his fist. Magneto had defently missed a change within the X-Men that was a big change. Why and how could he miss something so important?

'Charles, what have you done?' he thought to himself.

Rogue began backing away, looking between Magneto and Wolverine. She was shocked that Magneto remembered her, happy and upset at the same time. She was happy to find out that someone still remembered her, but upset and guttied it had to be Magneto; the man who had once tried to kill her and sucessed. She was in two minds. One part wanted to stay and help Magneto out of this so they could talk together at the end, but the other part of her mind took over and in two seconds Rogue was running away down the hallway.

Magneto was confused again. Confused as to why the Rogue was running away from the X-Men and confused as to why the Iceboy said he'd go after her and ran passed him after Rogue. He had to deal with the Wolverine and Storm which was easily done as he could control the Wolverine's body. He lifted the Wolverine into the air and throw him into Storm, pinning them both down to the ground.

He wasn't sure why he was following them, but he turned and followed Rogue and Iceman down the corridor.

Rogue ran and turned corners sharply, just missing Iceman's snowballs and the parts of the floor he frozen in attempt to either trap her where she stood or to trip her up. A tear slipped down her eye as she turned another corner into a longer corridor. This was the boy she once loved, chasing after her as if she was a criminal, which now she was, but still. He'd seen her as a monster a long time ago and it broke her heart to think he would really do it. He would really hurt her. His feelings weren't strong enough for her to not hurt her even if he didn't remember who she was. It stung that the love she felt was never returned and never really existed.

Atlas, Iceman caught Rogue in the long corridor, tripping her up by freezing the floor. Rogue went flying off her feet, sliding a little. Her sides burnt from the cold bun of the ice and she could feel where her new burises were going to be. It took her time to get back up. In that time, Iceman had made an ice path to get to her without slipping himself. He froze her hands in place where they were on the ground. Rogue was now stuck in a crawl position, looking up to Iceman.

"Bobby, please." Rogue begged, but when she looked to his eyes all she saw was the cold heartedness of a stranger.

Magneto walked in on this scene of Rogue begging Iceman not to hurt her.

"You killed the president! You or Magneto, one of you did. Your mad if you think your getting away with that! Your going straight to the authorises, Rogue" Iceman said, spitting Rogue's name out towards the end of his speech.

This was very interesting, Magneto thought. The X-Men turning on each other. He saw an opportunity here. Iceman raised his hands as if getting ready to use some more of his ice. Magneto beat him to it, and using the local metal, he sent it flying at Iceman, strapping him to the nearest wall.

His eyes fell to Rogue who looked from Iceman towards him, dumbfounded and teary. What had Charles done to this girl? She looked at him in fear, puzzling the question of if he'll kill her or not. To be killed though, she seemed less scared off than to be handed into the authorities. How strange it was that Rogue looked towards Iceman with more fear as if he was the greater threat. Magneto didn't see any reason to kill her or any reason to free her, except that he wanted answers (an insight into the X-Men). But he didn't need to free her for answers. He could question her here. Yet, he knew it would be foolish to waste time questioning her as time was running out. He knew it would be foolish to bring an X-Men with the Brotherhood, however, he could no longer see her as an X-Men (flashes of the president's dead body coming to Magneto's mind). There would be some risk in freeing her, he knew, but the real question was was he willing to take that chance?

Magneto raised his hand high, and Rogue turned her head away closing yes. Metal broke through the ice holding her and Rogue opened her eyes, staring at Magneto in question. Both Rogue, and even Magneto were shocked at his actions. He reformed himself sooner than she did and as Rogue attempted to stand up right on the ice, he asked with a wicked smirk of amusement, "My, what have you done to have your own team mates attack you?" He found her sudden frown of annoyance entertaining and chuckled. He had a hunch. "What have I missed?"

Rogue had managed to step off the ice carefully, without falling and onto dry land. She looked from the ice to Magneto and to Iceman who was starting to freeze the metal coves keeping him tired to the wall. Rogue looked sad and distant.

"That doesn't seem like the right question you should ask." Rogue said quietly. This confused Magneto even more. "I think you should question what you do know," She looked to him, the eyes he'd first seen when he saw her standing with the gun in her hand and the president dead at her feet had come back to her eyes. The eyes of age and torment. The eyes that told him this girl had been through a lot in the past year and he wanted to know what Charles had let a child under his care go through. "and remember and what they don't." Rogue finished turning to look at Iceman pinned against the wall.

"My dear, I am not after riddles." Magneto said, now all the humour lost from his voice and replaced with his cold serious tone. "Tell me what is happening between you and the X-Men."

Rogue's eyes went deep into thought again. She didn't know what to do. She hadn't planned or expected this to happen. She was brought out of her deep thoughts by heavy footsteps running in their direction. Heavy running and the clicking of guns from the end of one corridor and heavy feet running towards them at the other end of the corridor too. After looking from both sides, nether group having arrived yet, Rogue turned to face Magneto having came to a decision.

"I'll tell ya all I know if you can get us outta here."

This seemed like a fair deal to Magneto, yet, their were still dangerous consequences with that arrangement. Was he to accept it to satisfy his lust for answers, or was he to think of the greater good to protect his Brotherhood?


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Pyro was waiting for Magneto by the helicoptor.

"Come on Pyro!" Said Avolance.

Pyro growled, but climbed into the helicoptor. They had escaped the X-Men, but Magneto still wasn't out of the building. He knew though that they shouldn't get caught. If they got caught then they couldn't break Magneto out if he was caught. Besides, they had done their jobs as best as they could and held the X-Men off for as long as they said they were going to.

Mystique lifted the helicoptor into the air. For a moment, they hovered close to the building, waiting just a little longer for Magneto. And then they were shot at by the army on the ground.

"We gotta go." Said Avolance to Mystique. Mystique was worried about Magneto too, but she knew Avolance was right. She began turning the helicoptor when Pyro shouted, "There he is!"

Mystique looked to where he pointed, and there, indeed, was Magneto emerging from an explotion in the building, a magnetic field protecting him. His cape covered most of his body for protection and his helmet shielded his face.

"Open the door!" Mystique yelled at Pyro as she focused on keeping the helicopter steady for a little longer, before taking off. Pyro moved to open the door and in came Magneto.

"He's in. Go!" Yelled Avolance and Mystique turned the helicoptor away from the building, heading in the opposite direction from the white house.

Pyro quickly closed the door behind Magento so no bullets could get in. When he turned around, he was worried as Magneto was crouched over as if he was holding his side. Pyro was about to rush to Magneto's side and help him stand, but then Magneto straightened and the members of the Brotherhood in the back of the helicoptor saw that there was a girl underneath his cape. She had her arms tightly wrapped around Magneto (much tighter than he had his around hers).

Rogue felt conflicted. She hadn't been held this close, this gently for such a long time and she hadn't been around anyone she knew in such a long time neither. She didn't want to let him go for fear that if she let go of him, she'd lose the only person left in the world who actually remembers her existance.

But she forced herself away from him, remembering her new way of thinking; you can't trust anybody. Rogue slipped her arms away from his waist and found her footing. But still, she was confused about wheather to be happy she'd finally found someone, or upset and disapointed that it was Magneto. A man who once tried to kill her and succeded. She couldn't look at him, but she kept her head held high. She wasn't going to show she was afraid.

Magneto looked down at Rogue and watched her, checking her over for gun shots. She wasn't hit.

"Who's she?" Asked Pyro from behind him.

Both Magneto and Rogue turned to face him, confusion iritaing Magneto. "One of your old teams mates." Magneto said.

"What?" Laughted Pyro in disbelieve. He looked Rogue up and down. Rogue turned away. She couldn't bare to see another person she used to be close to reject her like a stranger once again. It was too painful. Magneto watched the exchange and saw the look of hurt in Rogue's eyes. He did feel some what sorry for her, but his hard nature made him not do anything to comfort her. Instead his thoughts went on to the only man he felt made this situation make sense.

Magneto moved to sit down. The other Brotherhood members joinned him. Rogue stood still looking at the spot she had focused on as Pyro took her in. "You can sit down, my dear."

Rogue peeked a look up at him. His cold eyes were just that. Cold. But, somehow, in those eyes she could see and understand why they were so cold and cruel. She could see all the pain and torture he had been through due to the hardened darkness within his eyes. It was horrible to see once one knew it was there and even worse to have lived through something so painful to make the eyes that harsh and holding of pain. Rogue didn't know why Magneto wanted to know why every one had forgot her. She would think he'd have other things in mind, but for some reason it was comforting knowing that someone wanted to hear her story. The only real comfort she had gotten in quite a while, though she already figured he wanted to use her in some way or that later on, she was going to be betrayed and hurt. So she slowly sat down next to him anyway, passing and pleasing as she waited for the time to come when she would make her get away.

He attempted to give her a small smile. It seemed strange and almost disturbing. She looked away out the window to see they were over sea. The sea was calming and relaxing her fears.

"What's going to happen after I tell you? You gonna try and kill me again?"

"If I see you as a threat to me or my Brotherhood, then yes." Answered Magneto truthfully.

"Am I a threat?" Questioned Rogue.

"Are you?"You are a mutant after all Rogue. Aren't all mutants dangerous?"

Rogue found him answering her question with another question iritating, but didn't say or show it.

"Are you taking me back to your base or kicking me out half way there?"

"We'll just have to wait and see what you tell us, won't we."

Rogue looked at Magneto. She found his whole attitude to this situation annoying. One minute he was straight and wanted answers, but the next minute he was scriptic.

"Are you actually going to give me a real answer, or are ya seriously just refusing to answer me?"

"My dear, I don't see why I should do you two favours while you have yet to do one for me. The deal was I save your life and you tell me what Charles has done this time. If you wish to know what happens to you next, and if you wish that it is od fate, then I suggest you forfill your first favour and begin telling me your tale before I get annoyed and regret my decision."

It was an annoying reply, but a truthful one. One with a threat behind it too which Rogue knew Magneto would carry out. Rogue turned around and looked to the sea. It was calming. She wondered what it would fell like to fly right besides it. "It was wet. The night I got kicked out of the Institute, I mean. It was raining." Rogue strugged her shoulders. "One night I got a knock at my door, told to pack a bag and leave. Not much else to it."

Magneto raised his eyebrow. "I don't believe that."

Rogue looked to him with a meaningful glare. "You never clearafied how much detail I had to give out. If you want more details then we could always do another deal. More detail from me in exchange for knowing what your gonna do ta me after I tell ya."

Magneto raised his eyebrow, cleaver, yet he was irritated at her cheek. "I asked you why no one could remember you, not what happened to you."

"Technically, you were asking about me and my life including what had happen to me. But I think we both know the answer to your question. "

"Indeed, I think we do."

There was a moment of intense silence where Rogue and Magneto just stared at each other. An exchange of understanding passed.

"I don't see the need to make any annoying stops to drop you off or any reason why you cannot be brought back to the Brotherhood."

"Wow, wait." Cut in Pyro. "She gets in just like that. Really, how do we know we can even trust her? She's an ex- X geek, right?"

Magneto turned slowly round to look at Pyro. He backed down quickly at the cold warning in Magneto's eyes.

"Erik." Came Mystique's voice from the front of the helicoptor. It was Mystique's warning to Magneto that she didn't agree on this. He looked to her. She was still focused on flying the helicoptor. Then he looked to Rogue who was trying to hide her frightened look. It seemed that she was ready for the worst. Worst being that they'd throw her out of the helicoptor or imprison her, but Magneto didn't know they were her worst fears at this moment. All he could see was what he himself could understand.

"She killed the president." Declared Magneto. There were gasps and looks of shock from the Brotherhood members. Even Mystique peered out of the corner of her eye to look at the girl. Rogue couldn't face their eyes so kept looking straight at Magneto's calm blue eyes. "I believe she is one of us now." Magneto said. He held out his hand to her.

Rogue looked down at it then back to Magneto's gaze. His eyes were welcoming (well as welcoming as he could make them with that forever cold hardness to them) . She was tempted to take his hand and agree to another family once again. But then all her past families came to mind. As Rogue looked back down at that hand, she backed up, moving furture away from Magneto. Finally she looked back up to him and said,

"I ain't apart of anybody's group. I work alone."

Magneto raised his eyebrow at this while taking his hand back. "A lone Rogue then. How terribly sad you must be."

Rogue looked away from him and back out the window. There was silence. "The Wolverine knocked on my door, told me to pack a duffle bag and meet with the Professor. So I did as I was told, thinking I was going on some kind of mission with the other X-Men or something. I soon realised that wasn't the case. The Professor gave me some money and told me to leave his home and never come back. Told me to go as far away from his home as possible and that if I ever did try to come back nobody would remember me."

There was silence as the Brotherhood digested this information; waiting for more. Magneto was bewildered. This was not the normal actions of his old friend. So what had changed him?

"Really? Professor Charles Xavier did that? I always knew he was lieing about not abusing his powers." Came Pyro's moody voice. Magneto looked to Pyro, giving him some what of a warning glare. He and Charles might have been enimies, but they were good friends too. Pyro backed off a little on the insults. "But what's so special about you? Why would he go to so much trouble to make everyone forget you? Did you do something really bad?"

Rogue looked away from the window to Pyro. Rogue actually found it strange and rather touching that he had asked. That someone who didn't remember her had asked her (kind of) who she was and why they couldn't remember her. Pyro seemed to get annoied by her true answer.

"I don't know."

Pyro throw his hands up in the air and slumped back in his seat. "Right, great! So, your telling us that your this hot chic that was living with the X-Men for, I don't know how many weeks, months, years? And that the Professor just kicked you out and wiped out everyone's memories of you just for the hell of it? Am I the only one thinking this is bullshit? What proof do you have anyway? You could be anyone? You could be lieing to us right now just to get into the Brotherhood so you can spy or something."

And there it was. Rogue felt her shoulders fall with her hopes. She turned to look out to the calming waters instead. Why had she set herself up for another knock down?

Magneto glared at Pyro. "She is not lieing Pyro as I remember her perfectly clear." Pyro became smaller in his chair and there was a frightful silence in the heicoptor at Magneto's harsh tone. Rogue couldn't help but peak at Magneto from the corner of her eye. He seemed powerful and dominate over Pyro and something about that just glorified him. "As for evidance, do you see that little bit of white in her auburn hair?" Pyro nodded his head. "She absorbed that from me when I and some of the older Brotherhood members tied her to a machine on the top of Liberaty Island. I let her drain my powers so she could function the machine and turn millions of people into mutant brothers and sisters just like us. It was only the X-Men's interferance that stopped our plans."

Everyone in the room was quiet and refused to look at Magneto's eyes. Rogue herself had looked down to the floor as he re-went over the events on Liberaty Island. As she remembered how dangerous and crazy this man sat beside her was. She dared peeked up at him and felt so small and intimidated as his cold glare moved to her. She wanted to look back down and away, but a force inside of her told her not to. Magneto found this rather interesting to see a burning fire behind those eyes tat looked back at him. A burning desire to fight and stay alive as she looked at her once murder."Do you know any reason for why Charles would want everyone to forget about you?"

Rogue shuck her head. "No... I-I did try to approach the others afterwards, but they got on the offencive, like Pyro and began questioning me when I said I was apart of the X-Men. They didn't even give me a chance to explain myself. Just turned on me as if I was a threat to them."

Magneto's eyes softened. "They seemed to see you as a threat even before they discovered it was you that killed the president. Why?"

Rogue looked out the window again. "I... I don't know. They just... I wouldn't leave them alone." A sad smile spread across Rogue lips. "I was determined not to lose my home or family, so I kept going back and kept demanding they listen to me and that it was the Professor that had wiped their minds of me. I revealed things to them only X-Men would know to prove my points and they grew suspicious. They were all for defending their presious Professor whom managed to help every kid under that roof, except me, learn how to control their powers, compared to a complete and utter stranger which they thought to be stiring up trouble or was apart of some mutant hunting organisation... They just... turned on me... I still have the scar from where cyclopse used his beams to try and get rid of me... He was the first to attack me. The others soon joined in after and before I knew it I was fleeing New York as if my life depended on it. And, in a way, it did. I was being hunted down by the X-Men. They wanted to take me prisoner and find out just how much information I knew by ripping my mind apart." Rogue shuck her head. "But I escaped before they could do any more damage to me."

There was a silence again. Not a scared silence, but a sad silence. Pyro looked away from Rogue; not being able to face her. He'd had to bite his tongue and not try and cause any arguement with her due to Magneto, but it was hard not to want to fight her and prove her wrong.

"I see... And there was absolutly no reason why Charles would have kicked you out?" Magneto asked.

Rogue shrugged her shoulders. "Not that I know of. Everything was normal. Or as normal as a mutant school can be. I was quiet and a good student, keeping my head down and had a boyfriend. I was moving on with my life, trying to live and work around my powers. But then the Professor just seemed to snap one night and get rid of me. As if I'd insuled him or something by even being there. Like I'd been a stranger in his home for all the time I stayed there. Like, he was sending off an intruder from his home... I've tried to figure out why he sent me away, but I've just found no answers."

"Yet, you moved from being abandoned to assassinating the presedent. I believe there is a big leap in your story which you are not telling us about." Said Magneto.

"Yeah well, that's another story for another time sugar. I've done you a favour and gave you more detail, now you do me a favour and make sure I don't get kicked outta this jet."

Magneto raised his eyebrow at this. He didn't see that move coming.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Mystique landed the helicopter and out stepped the Brotherhood. Pyro had been watching Rogue all the way through the journey with rather a nasty glare. The others seemed suspicious of her too, but weren't as cruel in their looks. They were the first out. Rogue waited till the end, then it was just her Mystique and Magneto left in the helicopter. Rogue stood and was about to climb out of the helicopter when Mystique stepped in the way and closed the door before Rogue could step out.

"Are you really going to let her in that easily Erik?" Mystique questioned Magneto.

Rogue looked from Mystique's annoied and fearst face to Magneto's irritated one.

"Can you name any threats about her?" Magneto asked.

Mystique looked at Rogue with those hot yellow eyes. "Once an X-Man always an X-Man."She looked back to Magneto. "This could just be a trap by Xavier."

"Perhaps." Magneto agreed, not taking his eyes off Mystique. "But can't you see what I see." He motioned to Rogue by looking at her looked. Mystique picked up the signal and looked at her too.

"I see a weak and threatened inconvenience!" She spat.

"A simple facade. What else do you see. Actually look at her." Magneto let a moment pass where it was just Mystique glaring at Rogue. Rogue had been looking inbetween them, but as Magneto looked away from her to face Mystique, Rogue decided to just follow what he was doing and looked at Mystique too. For some reason, Rogue really wanted to stay and get into the Brotherhood. Maybe it was because she wanted the shelter, or Magneto was right when he told her she had no where to go and hardly any chance of surviving. Though, she knew that if it came down to it, she would run for her life and be on her own once again if she really needed to. Wanting badly to have food and shelter for at least one night, Rogue looked back at Mystique. Maybe it was because somethings had happened to her and some events had changed her, but what ever it was that had hardened Rogue into showing bravery and a fiery glare when she was scared, she glared right back at Mystique's yellow eyes; showing her that she was willing to survive no matter what that meant.

"Do you see what I see now?" Asked Magneto.

Atlas Mystique broke her eye contact with Rogue to look at Magneto. Something changed in that moment and the mood seemed a little lighter. "If we go down because of her Erik, I'm blaming you." And with one final glare at Rogue, Mystique twisted, opened the door and left. Rogue watched her go and got her first glimps of what was outside the helicopter. They were in a forest area with really tall trees surrounding them. It didn't really seem to matter if Rogue had visited the Brotherhood's base; she wasn't finding her way out with all this wilderness about (which only made Rogue worry about what she would do if she really did need an escape route).

"After you my dear."

Rogue turned to look at Magneto. He was stood closer to her now then before. Rogue tried to twist her neck so that she could look up see him face from under his helmet. He was so very close. That look in his eye. The look of understanding and sympathy. Rogue still wondered why Magneto was being so nice to her and taking her in. She swallowed down her nerves, not trusting Magneto and wondering what he was up to. Rogue took in what he said, rather slowly, then turned even slower and began stepping out of the helicoptor. She could smell first, then see the camps and food that were set up for the other Brotherhood members. There were a lot more Brotherhood members than Rogue thought.

"Welcome to the Brotherhood." Magneto said from behind her.

Rogue stopped in her step and slowly digested what he said. But although she was slow to take in his actual words, a hundred meanings and possibilities of what Magneto meant by those four words and what he really wanted from her came crashing to her. "Who said I was joining y'all?" Rogue poked.

Magneto simply chuckled at her. "You agreed when you asked to be brought here."

"I never asked." Rogue hissed, feeling tricked and betrayed."I just wanted to know where you'd be kicking me out at."

"And now you know. Tell me, where would you have gone if we hadn't brought you here?" Rogue was quiet. That's all that needed to be said to answer his question. "I thought so. You're too thin. Have no money. No place to stay. Your tired and weak. If we were to turn you away my dear, I doubt that you'd survive a week."

"I've survived over a year on my own. I think I can last a week." Rogue snapped back, but truthfully, it scared her that Magneto had echoed her thoughts and deemed more true that her only chance of survival was here with the Brotherhood. And she was going to have to play by their rules to survive. But she wouldn't be used by them! she thought. She was no tool for anybody!

"Indeed. Tell me, what did you do during that year?" Asked Magneto.

Rogue was silent and Magneto saw that she had fallen into deep thoughts. Unhappy ones as a unearthly glare hardened her eyes. Rogue walked away. Magneto had lost his temper. He had been patient with her, but now he was running out of it. Before Rogue got to the bottom of the steps, two metal strips from the helicopter were ripped off and found themselves entangling around Rogue's wrists. Rogue had jumped at hearing the ripping sound of metal, and gasped as she felt two cold metal strips wrap around her wrists. As soon as they were secure around her wrists, her arms were dragged upwards and Rogue's feet left the step she was on. Magneto manipulated Rogue's body using his powers. He brought her up and turned her around to face him, her arms still together high above her head. Rogue looked enraged (and a little scared) as she cursed Magneto, kicked and squealed at his hold.

"Enough!" He bellowed. Rogue stopped her struggling (a little), continuing to glare daggers at Magneto. "Simply because I took pity upon you Rogue does not mean you have a free pass to do as you please. I saved your life earlier today and am now giving you refuge. You should be more respectful and appreciative and do as your told, or else you will not want to pay the consequences of disobeying me and angering me. Do I make myself clear."

Rogue growled, still glaring at Magneto. But she'd settled down more now that she knew it was just a warning she was receiving. Rogue knew she was vulnerable at this point and doing the smart, yet stubborn thing, she nodded her head, hate driving her not to even speak to him. She felt helpless and vulnerable again, and she didn't want to feel this way ever again. She hated Magneto for making her feel this way. Hated him! Magneto raised his eyebrow, and the restraints tightened.

"Yes!" Rogue spat out as the metal digged into her skin.

"Yes, what?" Magneto said.

Rogue growled. "What do you want from me?"

"Firstly, respect and the manners you should have been brought up with. Is this how you would normally speak to a superior?"

"Who says your superior?"

The metal tightened, cutting through her skin and answering her question. Rogue bit her lip to keep from gasping at the pain. Rogue let the pain go in her next long exhale. While she was exhaling (that calmed her seemingly) she caught Magneto's eyes, seeing him in-between anger irritation and patiently waiting for Rogue to reply with the right answer he wanted to hear. Rogue didn't want to give into Magneto and if she was in better conditions, she would resist and take the beating, but she wasn't in good conditions and she needed to play by his rules (at least for now) to survive.

"Yes, _sir_."

Magneto dropped her back onto the steps and returned the metal back to where it was. Rogue fell onto the steps, trying to keep on her feet as she regained her balance. Grasping her bleeding wrists, Rogue shot Magneto an anger glare, then turned away, shouting away from him as fast as she could.

Magneto followed after her, irritated by her ignorance and not liking not getting answers from the girl, or what he'd learnt about Charles' recent behaviour (if it was true.) What was he up to? Magneto followed behind Rogue till he came to a hill that over looked the set up Brotherhood camps. Rogue had stopped to watch the other Brotherhood members (that had been in the helicopter) standing in a row on the edge of the hill. She didn't feel like she should join them overlooking the Brotherhood camps as she didn't want to be apart of the Brotherhood, only Magneto felt differently. Rogue felt a hand on her lower back guide her to the edge of the hill. Rogue's anger was building again, but she complied. She stood besides Magneto and Mystique and looked down at all the other mutants who looked up at them. It was rather nerve wrecking. Besides her, she heard a humph, and looked up to Mystique out of the corner of her eye. Mystique rolled he eyes, her arms were folded and she looked ticked off (like she'd rather be somewhere else, doing anything else). Rogue looked down to her wrists she had been rubbing, then moved them down to her sides, ignoring the heat that irritated her wrists.

"It is done." Said Magneto, his voice loud and demanding attention. "The president is dead." There were cheers from the other Brotherhood members on the ground, but the one's on the hill stood silently. "However," All went quiet. "It was not us nor I who killed the president." There were whispers amoung the mutants that looked up to them. Then Magneto's eyes turned on Rogue. "This young lady here beat us to it. Her name is the Rogue and she will be joining us." Rogue's eyes were big in her skull. Magneto turned to address his people. "Treat her how you treat all your mutant Brothers and Sisters and make her feel welcome. She is, after all, now one of us."

There was another round of cheers at Magneto's speech. Rogue looked away from the people and to Magneto. Magneto didn't need to look at her to know she was shooting fiery daggers at him with her eyes. She was a southern spitfire after all, though at least she was keeping quiet and being discrete with her anger instead of expressing her rage in front of his people. Dealing with her feelings in private was acceptable to a point, however if she were to challenge him in front of his people, he'd have to punish her severely. He took a moment watching the Brotherhood cheer,before turning and heading off down the hill to get to the bottom. Rogue was a little unsure of what to do now.

"Follow me." Said Mystique unpleasently as she thumped passed Rogue.

Rogue followed the blue mutant relooktantly. As they came to the bottom of the hill, there Rogue saw a metal dome. Obviously Magneto's taste. Rogue followed Mystique inside, being careful to try and remember how many turns just encase she needed to get out. She lost her sense of direction during the middle of the walk though, so let her mind wonder. Rogue focused her attention on Mystique. Mystique was a beautiful slender woman whom Rogue knew from Wolverine's memories was tough, flexible and a brilliant fighter. For the first time, Rogue actually saw another possible advantage of being with the Brotherhood instead of just surviving. All Rogue had to do was find a way to ask. Finally Mystique brought Rogue to a small cramped room that had a bed, a few draws and a lamp, but nothing else.

"You'll stay here till your sent for." And with that Mystique turned and walked away.

Rogue watched Mystique leave. She couldn't hold her tongue for much longer. "I hear you can fight. That your a really good fighter." Rogue blurted out. Mystique stopped and looked over her shoulder at Rogue. Mystique's eyes were angry and scary again. Rogue swollowed down her fear and thought 'what the heck', she would regret not asking. "Would you be able to teach me some moves?"

Mystique turned around fully. A look of puzzlement in her eyes. "Couldn't you just absorb me or are you too scared to use your powers?"

Rogue shuck her head. "I'm not scared. I was just wondering what would I do, how would I fight if I didn't have my powers on me... I think it'd be a good thing to know how to defend myself at least without any powers. Can you teach me, please."

Mystique was not expecting this. She didn't know wheather to laugh at her, or be annoyed. Looking at Rogue still form, with her shoulders back and head held high, she knew that Rogue was being serious. But Mystique knew that although Rogue's attitude may have been serious now, but it might not be if it ever got to the actual training. "How serious are you?" Mystique asked.

Rogue seemed to feel the importance of this question. "I'm not so naive to think that this'll be a walk in the park. I know it's gonna hurt, a lot, and that it's gonna take me a while to learn at least some of the basic stuff. But even if I only get that far as to know how to defend myself I'll be happy. Even if I have to walk out of practise with bruises from my neck to my toes, I'll be happy to know that if someone did ever attack me I'd be able to hurt them enough before they can hurt me."

Her speech was moving, but just words. Mystique knew of these speeches where they wouldn't be forfilled. Mystique was expecting one where Rogue would tell her she'd work hard to the bitter end, but Mystique was pleased that the girl was honest enough to say she wouldn't become a master anytime soon. Mystique still didn't see the point of wasting her time training her when someone else could. Looking into Rogue's eyes, she saw once again what Magneto was telling her to look for. She saw herself and Erik combined in Rogue. She saw the scared little girl she used when she was younger who was scared to be who she really was and the tortured past which Erik had endured and made him the strong and powerful leader he was today. The mixture didn't make sense. She could relate to Rogue feeling scared and unable to be herself, but she didn't understand why she could see Erik's pain and suffering in her eyes too. What had happened to this girl? Mystique had guessed this had been the question on Magneto's mind too and the reason why she was still here. Mystique had cocked an invisible eyebrow when she'd first saw Rogue's eyes, thinking Magneto may play a hard game, but she knew him better enough to know that he still had a soft spot for tormented mutants. Whatever it was though that was sparking this mixture od fear and determination in Rogue's eye, it was making her wanna fight and Mystique couldn't want to stop that if she tried. But she did try.

"It's late. You should sleep. It's not every day you kill the president of the United States." Mystique said the last part with a touch of venom in her humour.

"Yeah, thing is," Rogue said stepping closer to Mystique. "I don't feel much like sleep. To be truthful, I feel a bit worked up."

Mystique could understand her sudden adrelain rush. She remembered she was some what of the same back when she first killed someone. She was nervious and paranoid and needed to burn off her extra aderenaling till she fell alseep. Mystqiue looked Rogue up and down. She was sure the clothes Rogue was wearing were not hers. They were two sizes too big. Mystique turned away.

"Follow me." Rogue followed Mystique down the hall ways again until they arrived at another room. This one was bigger and nicer. Rogue stopped at the door way as Mystique entered it and pulled out from a draw some grey track suit bottoms, a tight t-shirt and some trainers. "Change into them." Mystique ordered as she put the clothes on the bed. She looked to Rogue then stepped out of the room closing the door behind her.

Rogue stared at the door, then stared at the clothes. She was hesitant at first, but in a moment, Rogue began stripping and changed into the clothes. The top had three quarter lengh sleeves and she had to put on the gloves she had been wearing.

There was a knock at the door just as she was pulling the gloves on, "Are you done yet?" Came Mystique's voice.

Rogue walked to the door after putting her dirty clothes over her bare arms and opened the door. "Do you have any long sleeved shirts please?" Rogue asked.

"You get what your given, now let's go." Mystique said, begining to walk off down the corridor.

"But I don't want to hurt anybody." Rogue muttered.

Mystique stopped and turned on her heel, a sly, devish look in her gleaming eye. "I knew it." Mystique said slowly and calmly, but in a voice of veniom. "I knew you were still a goody two shoes X-Men. Once an X-Man always an X-Man."

"What I mean is, I don't want to hurt anybody here who's on the same side."

Mystique raised her eyebrow at this. On the same side? Mystique had thought Rogue didn't want to join the Brotherhood. "What side are you on?" Mystique questioned.

Rogue began walking up to Mystique till she was face to face with her. "The side which lets mutants be free." And then Rogue passed by Mystique. Mystique watched Rogue walk on and soon followed her. She couldn't help but feel annoyance and irritation towards the girl. What did her answer mean? Which side was she on? What was she playing at? At least, if she could not get her answers, then she could beat her till she felt better.

XXXXX

There was a knock at Magneto's door.

"What is it?" He asked. He didn't want to be disterbed as he went over plans in his head.

Pyro came in. "I think you might want to see this."

"See what Pyro?" Magneto breathed, sounding irritated, but more tired.

"Mystique's teaching the newbie a lesson."

Magento looked up to Pyro then from where he was sat for the first time. He raised himself up and together, Magneto and Pyro went to the gym.

There was a small crowd that had gathered. Magneto and Pyro soon became one of them. In front of him Magneto saw that Mystique had Rogue pinned on a mat in the middle of the gym. Mystique was twisting Rogue's arm behind her back and had her legs wrapped around Rogue's middle so it was harder for Rogue to move and breath. Magneto wasn't pleased with this display. He watched Mystique whisper something into Rogue's ear as Rogue slowly fell onto one knee. Rogue looked like she was in great pain; her face was all crunched up as she tried to fight against it. Magneto was about to interfer when Rogue made a sudden move. Rogue pushed herself back up onto her feet and jumped backwards onto her back and crushed Mystique inbetween her body and the mat. Next, Rogue used one of her arms that had come free from Mystique's grip to elbow her in the kidney. The pain distracted Mystique for enough time that Rogue was able to roll off from on top of her, grab Mystique's arm and twist it around her back. Rogue took up the same position as Mystique had, twisting both arms behind her back and jumping up to wrap her legs around Mystique's waist. The good point being that Rogue knew how to get out of this hold now, so she could plan how to avoid the expected assault and attempt from Mystique.

A few of the watcher cheered for Rogue and Mystique's fight. Magneto folded his arms, deciding to see just how far they would go. Magneto watched as Mystique whispered something back to Rogue, a large Chester grin characterizing Mystique's features. Mystique did not seem agrovated to fight as Pyro made it out to was curious to know what Rogue had said for Mystique to agree to teach Rogue submission holds.

Mystique, being more flexable than most, was able to bring both her arms up above her head, and while Rogue was distracted with her arms, Mystique headbutted Rogue. Rogue loosened her grip and now Mystique was free to use her arms. Mystique twisted her arm so that she elbowed Rogue in the face. The impact knocked Rogue back to the mat and she head the side of her check. There was blood coming from her nose and mouth. Mystique easily got out of Rogue's legs from there. Rogue, remembering now that she was in a fight, rolled over to her side. Mystique was faster on her feet and stomped on Rogue's chest before she could squirm away.

"You've aloud youself to be put in a worse possion than before. If I had a knife all I'd have to do was stomp on your stomach and slit your front. If you ever do get knocked onto your back you can't be clumbys. You've got to get up and fast unless your luring them into attacking you, but in this case you wasn't. In future, your going to have to learn to get up in less than three movements to speed up your time and cut out the slack. Do you understand me?"

Rogue nodded her bloody head. Mystique removed her foot and began turning away from Rogue. "You should go clean up."

"Is that really it for today?" Rogue asked as she began getting up from the floor. Both Mystique and Magneto raised their eyebrows.

"You want more punishment?" Mystique asked as she turned half her body towards Rogue.

Rogue shrugged her shoulders. "It's not punishment if your learning. If this was a real fight it wouldn't stop just because I had a little bit of blood on me. We only just begun."

Magneto was satisfied by this determination and from the smirk on Mystque's face, he could tell the girl was making an impression. Most of the gathered Brotherhood seemed impressed by this attituted too (or thinking that Rogue was the biggest idiot there).

"This is only training. You shouldn't kill yourself too much over it, just encase the next real fight is just around the corner. Then what you going to do if your too beaten up and knackered out from training? You won't be able to fight properly."

Rogue shrugged her shoulders again. "True, but all you've given me is a bloody nose and a bloody lip. I'm sure a little more wouldn't hurt would it?"

Mystique turned her full body towards Rogue now and Magneto shuck his head at how large the grin on Mystique's face had got.

"As long as the session doesn't last more than an hour, I think that will be acceptable."

Both woman turned to face Magneto, only just noticing he was there and that the others were there too. They had been so wrapped up in a world of there own, they didn't know they were there. Magneto turned and left.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Rogue left the gym with blood covering all all of her t-shirt, bruises and a little bit of Mystique in her head. They had stopped then when Rogue had accedently touched Mystique. Rogue had stopped fighting and started apologing. Mystique had repayed her by grabbing her gloved hand and slamming her into the mat.

"Don't ever apologie for using your powers and don't ever hezitate. Always go in for the kill."

Then it had ended. Mystique was having to show Rogue to the hospital, but all Rogue did was insist that she just simply have a shower instead, so Mystique dropped her off at the showers. Rogue entered the female showers and stripped of her clothes, glad for the empty shower room. She hung them over the sink before stepping into the burning hot water and locking the door behind her. Rogue relaxed in the hot water. It felt so good as it made it's way down her body and cleansed her wounds. Blood changed the water red. As much as Rogue hated it, she bared the pain of rubbing her nose and face to get all the blood off. Then, after her face was clean Rogue rubbed the bar of sopa into the cuts, scars and bruises all over her body gently. Rogue hissed more at touching her skin than she had wait touching her bloody nose. The reason it hurt so much was because her skin had only just started healing from having it ripped and taken from her body. It took her half an hour just to clean all of her body. She moved onto her hair.

XXXXX

Magneto opened the door when he felt Mystique approach his room.

"I must ask how did she convince you to teach her?" He asked, getting straight to the point.

"She asked." Mystique replied as she stepped into his room.

Magneto turned away from looking out the window to face Mystique.

"And you would usually reject. You forget I know you too well Mystique and that I know you would never take someone on unless you saw their worth, otherwise you would have passed her on to someone else."

Mystique shrugged her shoulders and came to sit down on one of his metal chairs. "I guess you could say she got to me."

Magneto came to sit in front of Mystique. "Do you see what I see now?"

Mystique nodded her head. "Yes... I see a lot of myself in her when I was that age. When I was growing up. Like I didn't know who I was, she's got so many minds in her head that it confuses her and she doesn't know who she is. Like me she hides because she's afraid of her own skin. Afraid of what it can do. Both our mutants are in our skin. I can change my shape and she can kill someone by touch. What I don't understand about her though is why I see a lot of you in her Erik." Mystique looked to Magneto as she said this. He was unmoved. "You've noticed it too, haven't you."

"Yes, I'm afraid I have." His eyes glassed over and he seemed to fade into deep thought. "I noticed it the moment I saw her holding the gun that she wasn't the same girl."

"Your soft on her. Is it because you symptomize with her?" Magneto was silent, but Mystique knew he'd heard her. Grimacing, Mystique decided to redirect her question as she wasn't going to get anywhere with him this way. "What was she like?"

Magneto came back to reality and looked at Mystique. There was another person who had met her and forgotten about her. It irritated him for some reason. "She was a quiet scared little girl who'd run away from the home she had been rejected from. All she was doing while she was running was trying to survive. From what I saw the girl had no reason to live."

"And then Charles found her." Mystique said, trying to piece together the story.

"Not quite. Rogue found the Wolverine and made an alliance. I believe it was the first other mutant she had meet in her life and she found some kind of purpose within him. A new reason for living as she knew then she wasn't the only one. So she hid in the back of his truck and was determained to stay with him, even when he found her and left her at the edge of the road. Sabretooth saw it in her eyes and described it as an upset puppy longing for it's owner to come back, but what I think he saw really was a determind girl wanting to stay with the only other person she knew she could relate to."

"Sabretooth?" Mystique said. Magneto understood his question. Why was Sabretooth there?

"Sabretooth was doing a mission I had sent him on. It was to retrieve the girl. But he failed. The X-Men, Storm and Cyclopse showed up before he could take her. It had been Wolverine that Charles had been monitoring. Rogue was just an added bonus to them. They enrolled her within the school and did what they do with any mutant. Made them live in a false hope. A dream which can never happen and will never happen. A belief that human's and mutant's can get on peacefully just as they do in the school, excluding their differences. Charles is a fool fooling the children. Once they step out of that school they will know the true meaning of the world and understand that the world hates us because we are different."

Mystique already knew the reason why they were fighting. I didn't have to be repeated to her. She was already converting others to join the Brotherhood when she was in her tweenties she knew it that well. "What happened to her there?" Mystique asked.

"We happened my dear. We happened. Don't you remember when we created a machine that was to change humans into mutants." Mystique shuck her head, no. Magneto frowned. "We built a machine, but it needed a controller. Someone who could activate it. That person would lose their life, but it was one sacrifice that would have done us good. Rogue was going to be that sacrifice."

"Why? Why her?" Mystique asked, not quiet understanding.

"Because she could absorb my powers and use them to control the machine."

Mystique's face fell. "You could have controlled the machine." He nodded. "Why didn't you."

"Because I would be needed to lead the new generation into existing. I was more valueble to lose. The girl didn't even have a reason for being alive and she knew it. She knew she had no purpose on this earth, so I gave her purpose."

"You used her."

"Yes, I did."

Mystique nodded her head in acceptance, but had come to sit at the edge of the seat. "And what about now? Does she have purpose now?"

Magneto was still. He sat back in the chair, hands together while he pondered, not looking any different from when he first sat down. "Honestly, I do not know. She may have shot the president, but we have no idea what her motive was. You know your mission now."

Mystique nodded, stood up and left.

XXXXX

Rogue stepped out of the shower, glad that there were no other mutant females there. She remembered she didn't have any other clothes except the bloody ones on the side. Rogue hurried out and quickly pulled them on. Rogue was startled and jumped as the door to the woman's showers opened. Rogue had only just pulled the t-shirt down over her deeply scared stomach when Mystique entered.

"Here." She said as she looked Rogue up and down. "They're clean clothes. Change out of those bloody ones." Rogue took the clothes, then swiftly moved back into the shower. She hung the clothes over the door as she quickly stripped out of the bloody ones and into the clean ones.

When she stepped back out Mystique said, "Follow me."

Rogue did as she was told and followed Mystique to a big metal hall where there were lines of metal tables and chairs filled up with different mutants. "When was the last time you ate?" Mystique asked Rogue.

Rogue looked at Mystique who was glaring back at her (she always seemed to b glaring). Rogue couldn't meet her gaze as she told her. "A while."

"How long?"

Rogue shuck her head. "I've lost count of the days."

Mystique nodded and lead Rogue to the self service buffie where she could pick out her own food. Rogue went for a normal size amount of food. Mystique huffed in annoyance and added extra potato's and meat to her plate. Rogue kept her head down, feeling nervious about taking so much. But when Mystique pointed out to a very large oversized blob with a moutian of food in front of him, Rogue didn't feel so sat together at a square table, saying nothing and began eating. Rogue felt eyes on her and peeked over to see Pyro was watching her.

"Ignore him." Rogue looked back to Mystique. She ate her food casually, with her head held high. "You're sticking out like a sore thumb. If you want to get along here straighten your back and lift up your chin." And when Mystique's harsh yellow eyes meet hers, Rogue knew that was an order, not a requested. She did as she was told. "Better. Ignore Pyro. He likes to wind people up."

"I know." Said Rogue glumly. Mystique looked back up and watched Rogue. Rogue looked down to her plate with sad eyes, but kept her back straight and chin up like Mystique had told her. Good, Mystique thought, at least she's learnt one thing.

"Were you two close?" Rogue looked up to Mystique, then looked at Pyro. He was still watching her.

"No." Rogue looked back to Mystique. "We were friends, but that was about it. He was best friends with my ex-boy friend before I left though, so we did used to hang around each other. He liked to show off a lot back then and wind people up. Sometimes it was funny, others it wasn't."

"Who was your boy friend?" Mystique asked.

Rogue guessed that Mystique was only after information about the X-Men (why she was interested in Rogue's personal life was a mystery to Rogue), but, in a way, it was nice having someone genually interested about her and her past. So she didn't avoid her questions because she wanted to talk (even if it hurt). "Bobby Drake. Iceman."

"Iceman? Really." Mystique said, her face crunching up.

Rogue attempted to hide a smiled at Mystique's odd face expressions, liking this side of Mystique that seemed normal."Yep. Bobby. He was kind and sweet and the perfect blue eyed American boy. At least I thought he was." And this was where the pain began again for Rogue and the smile faded. "Bobby was one of the X-Men to threaten me when I kept popping up. When I ignored their threats and they started to attack me, he got physical and froze my arms and legs to the wall. What he did, how he trapped me, almost cost me my life that day. I hate him. I get that he doesn't remember and didn't know what he was doing, but I still hate him. If I really was a stranger and he'd had done that then I would have broken up with him then and there. Bobby turned into a bit more of a jerk when I left. I think it was due to Pyro's influence. He must remember getting up to mischief with him, but not dating me."

"Hmmm, I can believe that." Mystique looked at Pyro too. Pyro saw Mystique looking at him, then looked away. Mystique looked at Rogue. This was interesting information to know about her team members and enemies. Rogue was looking at Pyro too. A look of deep hurt and sadness in her eyes. "They ganged up on you." Rogue nodded her head. Mystique felt that Rogue needed to know the truth. "Do you know why Pyro's here?"

"'Cause he believes in what your boasting?"

"Yes and other reasons. Professor Xavier brought in a new girl, Kitty Pyrde also known as Shadowcat. She changed Iceman back into a good boy and there was agro between the three; Pyro, Iceman and Pryde. When Iceman chose Shadowcat over him, Pyro was finally pushed to his limit having felt betrayed by Iceman for the last time and left to forfill what he believes is his purpose. He agrees with what we stand for. Do you?"

Rogue couldn't help feeling bad for Pyro, but that last question changed her attitude. She looked at Mystique who was watching her intensely. She had asked this question once before. It was an important question that Rogue knew if she gave wrong reasoning, she'd be out on her arss or worse. Rogue looked back to her meal and stabbed a potato. "You really want to know what I think?"

"Yes." Said Mystique.

"I think that I did the wrong thing killing the president." Mystique wasn't happy about this reply. Rogue could see her angered face from the corner of her eye. "I think what I did. What the Brotherhood did was a mistake. Y'all went public about it and admitted to killing the president. That won't get people to like us or think to accept us more, it's just gonna stir up trouble more. I think, if y'all hadn't interfered and just let me kill him then it would have been a quiet assassination where no one would know if it was by a mutant or a human so no hate should, logically, be directed at either one. Just at the incident in general. If I would have been able to kill him in silence and got away without anyone knowing what I did, America wouldn't be as bad for mutants. We would't have to deal with the mutant registration law or mutants being rounded up off the streets and put in prison, because no one would think mutants are a threat."

Mystique was a little confused by this intake. She watched as Rogue's eyes turned a murderous red. The same eyes she had when she had killed the president. But Mystique could only guess that.

"You sound like an X-Men, almost." Said Mystique. "Mutants are dangerous and a threat and the world needs to know w won't be abused in silence. If we stay silent, no one would rebel and nothing would get done to help mutants. If people didn't know the president wasn't killed by mutants, then how would they know that he was the one whom was abusing us?"

"And you think people are gonna see it that way? That they're gonna understand your message? How the hell are they suppose to understand mutants are being beaten and tortured when all thy know is that these strange mutants just upped and killed the president without any reason and that if they could do that for no reason, what else would they do?"

Mystique was quiet, seemingly taking in Rogue's points. "You believe our tactics were wrong, but you still think the president should have died?" Rogue nodded her head at Mystique's question. "Does that make you one of us?"

Rogue looked up to Mystique with serious firest eyes. "There are somethings you do which I do agree with, but some ways in which you go around it that I don't. I'm not sure if I can class myself with you or against you. But know this, I won't stand in your way if you decide to go along with another stupid plan to try and prove a point. What you'll do is bring all that argo back on you and other mutants. Just as long as it doesn't effect me too drasticlly, I'm not arsed what you do."

There were looks exchanged which told both that there was a mutual understand of the other and a quiet alliance. After placing her fork down, Mystique rose and walked away from the Rogue.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

"Have you found out which side she is on?" Asked Magneto the next day. He knew that it didn't take Mystique long to get information out of someone and as that someone was living with them, it should take less than that.

"She's a tough cookie to crake. In a way of saying the cookie crumbles both ways."

Magneto raised his eyebrow at Mystique; irritation and confusion at Mystique's new riddles taking over his face. "Mystique I have no time for games. Is she with us or not?"

Mystique turned to look at Magneto. She was back in the same chair she had been in yesterday, and he stood near the window again. "I don't know."

Magneto looked disappointed. "You need more time?"

"No, what I mean is Rogue's tricky. She agrees with what we do, but at the same time she doesn't. She's not one sided. It's like she's a mix of the X-Men's believes and our Brotherhood's believes. Wouldn't be impossible if she's absorbed some of the X-Men and you."

Magneto rubbed the his eyes. "In this case Mystique you can't be two sided. You're either on our side, or Charles'. You either are willing to kill and do whatever it takes to survive, or you believe that everything can be solved with simply just words. From her killing the president I'm more incline to believing she's on our side. You've experianced it yourself Mystique. Once you have you're first kill it's never the same."

Mystique was still and quiet in her chair as her past played like a cinema in her mind.

"We need to hear her say it Mystique. Not just say she'll join us, but we need to believe she's on our side. Need to make her believe it. A power like that-"

"Then why don't you talk to her Erik?" Snapped Mystique. She had risen from her chair, anger flowing through her. She glared at him and he watched this new reaction unfold. There was something about the way Mystique was acting which was different. She seemed to be more...caring, towards the girl. Perhaps it was because she saw a lot of herself in Rogue and knows all the horrible things she will go through in her life. The pain of having to relive all those heart breaking and soul crushing moments might have gotten to Mystique. Magneto let Mystique leave and was left with these puzzling thought about Rogue and Mystique.

Magneto came to sit down behind his desk where he slouched and thought. Yesterday evening, when they had arrived back at the base, he had gone straight to tracking Rogue and where and what had happened to her during the past year or so since she said she had been kicked out of Xavier's school for gifted youngester. He'd found that there were no real leds he could follow and that, during the past year, she had dissapeared all together. Magneto was begining to become more and more curious and suspious of Charles' actions to remove Rogue from the school and why? Why had he done it and what was the purpose? Where had she been for the last year? These were questions he was going to find the answers out to if Mystique couldn't.

Magneto got up from his chair and left his office.

XXXXX

Rogue had tosed and turned again last night. Nightmares haughted her again. At three o'clock when she finally awoke, she decided to do the sensible thing and snooped around the base. It had taken her two or three hours, but she thought she finally had the basic idea of where everything was. By six o'clock, Rogue had found the kitchen, made herself a nice hot cup of coffee and sat in the large eating area on her own. For hours Rogue just thought over things in her head. She thought over good times with the X-Men, bad times with the X-Men. Mistakes she made that might have gotten her kicked out. Reasons the X-Men hadn't wanted her. The crap cheap hotel she stayed in while she was trying to convince the X-Men about who she was. The fights with the X-Men she got into. The final acceptence that the X-Men were just never going to accept her again and were in her past. The hitch hiking of cars. The horrible people she had meet. The hunger. The clubs. The hands. The beer breath. The cigarettes. The storkers. The kidnapping. The cell. The man handling. The cold cold surgical tables. The bright lights. The needles. The injections. The knifes. The electric shockers under her skin. The peeling of her skin. The shaving of her hair. The cutting open of her head. The doctors in white looking down at her. Her screaming. The fast beeping machine that monitored her heart.

The cup which she held in hand smashed in her hands. Rogue opened her eyes to see that she had squeezed the cup till it had shattered.

"That was Pyro's mug. I don't think he'll be happy." Rogue looked to besides her. There coming towards her was Magneto.

Rogue sighed as she looked down at the broken pieces, only just getting her breathing under control. Had she dozed off in some kind of deep daydream? "Sorry." She muttered, thinking of how pissed Pyro was going to be having someone first, touch his stuff then break it.

"There's no need to apologize."

"To you? No. I'll apologize to Pyro." Rogue started collecting the little pieces of clay into her hand, stood up and walked to the bin. Magneto followed. "Is there something you want or something I can do for you?" Rogue asked feeling Magneto's pale eyes follow her.

One of the thoughts Rogue had had was that this place was only temperary like most places. She'd be gone within a couple of days, on the run again with no money or place to stay again. She didn't like that idea of living, but if they were to kick her out then she'd just have to adapted. She'd thought that the only reasons they'd brought her back was to put her through some tests and see if she was actually Brotherhood material. She'd rather had got things over sooner rather than later, so she pushed for a fight with Mystique that first day when she arrived (that had been quite a few days ago now). Her reasons that she told Mystique were all true and did have an underlineing meaning underneath them, but it was also to show them that she could fight if she needed to. Then the talk with Mystique over dinner, that was another test, she noticed. She didn't know if she'd failed or passed or if there were any other tests, but she knew that one day, like now, Magneto would turn up or ask her to his office and kick her out if not keep her or kill her. She hoped he wasn't lieing on the helicoptor and that they really would kill her instead of keep her prisoner. Rogue took in a deep breath and put on a face as she turned around to face Magneto.

Magneto looked sombra. Nothing wrong with him. Nothing troubling him and nothing making him smile. Just plain old steel eyed Magneto.

"And what might you think I'd want or ask you to do if I did?" Said Magneto.

Rogue folded her arms. Criptic Magneto, really? "I don't know. You tell me."

A small smile of amusement set on Magneto's face. Then it dropped. "Why are you up and in here so early?"

Both looked around the empty cafeteria. Rogue shrugged. "Couldn't sleep I guess. Plus, I didn't really know where else to go in this place."

"You haven't looked around then?" Magneto asked, looking down at Rogue from the corner of his eye. The look was clear on his face that he didn't believe what she was saying, but there was still a bit of doubt and disbelieve (if Rogue was telling the truth and hadn't looked around then he'd think her a fool).

"'Course I looked around. Do ya really think I'm that stupid that I'm just gonna walk and stay in a place full of people who may just turn on me and not know where the exits are."

"Why would we turn on you?" Magneto asked.

"Why not? Besides, aren't you suppose to know the answer to that? You are the leader of the Brotherhood after all, and if you say kill me, then it's done. All you gotta do is have a reason ta kill me."

"Indeed. Perhaps you could enlighten me. Are there reasons why I should keep you here and alive?"

Rogue rolled her eye before she turned her body away from the cafeteria to look Magneto square in the face. He turned too to face her frontly. "Why don't we just cut to the chase and stop with all this bull. You wanna know if you can trust me to wonder around without need of a babysitter or something, right? Well, truth is I can't give you reason not to trust me or to trust me. I'm just like everyone else in this world. Selfish. If I need to betray you to safe my own skin or because I think what your doing is wrong, I will. But if I think what you're doing is right, then I'll stay loyal. The choice is yours wheather you trust me or not, but from what I've learnt, my advice would be don't trust anyone."

Magneto could understand now why Mystique had connected straight away with this one. The way she talked and acted, it was like he was facing a younger self. The fire, pain and torture in her eyes jumped out at him and her words hit him hard and started to make him question things, not only about others, but about himself. What's more, he believed he had been convinced in one simple speech. Not even Charles could do something like that. Perhaps his invasion in her mind had altered her more than he thought.

"I see." He said. "Well then, like everyone here I will ask you what you believe and which side are you on. The Brotherhoods, or the X-Men's."

Rogue was silent for a moment, then let out a sigh. "You know I can never be an X-Men again. You've set that question up for me so it appears there is only one other answer. Only one other alternitive." Rogue began shaking her head. "You're wrong. Just because I don't have a big old X over my chest doesn't mean I'm not an X-Men and I can't still stand for what they stand for. But, just because I could stand for what the X-Men preach even without the X on my chest doesn't mean I have to chose to follow them-"

"Stop muttering on and tell me wheather you are with us, or against us." Magneto said iritatedly.

Rogue smiled. "Annoying, isn't it? Confusing too. Criptic. Doesn't give you an answer, yet you've still answered the question, or I would have if you hadn't interupted me so rudely. Guess what?" Rogue reached up and tapped the side of her head. "I learnt that technique of rail roading people from you."

Magneto raised his eyebrow. "That is not my way. I perfer to tell the person I am talking to exactly what-"

"Unless your trying to confuse them and twist their minds to do what you want them to. Your pretty good at you're speeches and persuasion. If I were to guess, I'd say you had a secondery power there Magneto. Persuasion."

"Are you still following the morals of Charles Xavier or has killing the president changed your views? Why did you kill the president Rogue?"

"There you go again." Rogue said, pointing at him. She was getting rather annoied and irritated now. " Trying to make me doubt myself an X-Man so I think I'm more alike to the Brotherhood-"

"You are more alike to us. What you did, Charles would never allow-"

"No, he wouldn't, but just because I killed the president doesn't mean I think I'm apart of the Brotherhood or that I'm not an X-Man anymore-"

"Why are you making this so confusing?" Magneto finally asked out of rage.

"Because I know you Magneto." Again, she tapped the side of her head. "I know you and I know who you are and all the tricks. I'm not Mystique Magneto. I won't bend to your will listening to all these speeches you make. I refuse to. My mind is already damaged and filled with other people's thoughts, feelings, hopes, dreams and nightmares. I won't have you or anyone else use me or manipulate me in any way ever again! Do I make myself clear?"

Magneto remained tall and dominate, but he knew he had lost his attempt at discovering which side she was on. But something else he was interested in was seemed to show. "You're scared of being used again?"

"You've already used me once Magneto." There was red in Rogue's eyes. A sign of anger and passion as she locked eyes with Magneto. Magneto didn't turn away. Neither of them were willing to turn away. They were both rivaling over coming out dominate. They had moved closer and closer together and now their faces were inchies apart. "You won't use me like that again."

"If what's holding you back from being true to yourself and admitting you're apart of this Brotherhood, is our run in on Liberaty island, then don't fight you're true nature over what I did to you. You absorbed me. You knew my reasons. You understood why you were so important. Don't pretend that you don't understand!"

"I don't deny it. I understand perfectly why you were doing it, but you never asked me if I was OK with it."

Magneto raised his eyebrow. "Would you have been OK with it? Would you have been willing to sacrific yourself for your mutant brothers and sisters." Magneto stepped forwards more. "I don't believe you would have. You were a scared little girl. Frightened of your own shadow. Now though. You've changed. Transformed into this firest little spit fire willing to do anything that suits you. If it was this Rogue I had meet a year ago, then I would have asked you. But not when you were a weak, withering little creature. Somethings happened to you. Something has changed you. Made you one of us. You may still believe you're an X-Men, but you're not. Something in your past, something you've gone through in the past year has changed you Rogue. I'd like to know what has changed you Rogue." Magneto lift his hand and with the back of his two fingers, stroked the side of her face.

Rogue didn't flinch away from the touch. Instead she smiled at Magneto's now softened expression. "You've just proved me right. All that you've just said (and what you're doing with you're body language), it was the technique of persuasion. Answering the question, but not giving a straight answer and diverting it onto another topic. I was going to use the same technique when I was telling you I am still an X-Man at heart. But I was also going to tell you I'm also part Brotherhood too." Rogue took Magneto's gloved hand in her gloved hand and moved it away. "I am loyal to both, but neither with one. Not the Brotherhood or the X-Men. You're never going to be able to have me."

Magneto rolled his hand in Rogue's so that he was cupping her hand. "I can try."

There was a short moment. A short spark. Before Magneto saw their hands in the corner of his eye. "You're bleeding." The moment was broken and both looked to Rogue's ripped and bloody glove that Magneto held in his hand. He turned it so Rogue's hand was on top and the cut was more visable.

"Oh." Rogue said rather dumbfoundedly.

Magneto moved behind her to reach and take a napkin from the side. Slowly and carefully, he took off Rogue's glove and wiped the blood off her hand that surrounded the large gash. "You'll need to..." Magneto began to say when he saw that he was wiping the blood off of cuts that had already resealed up, yet were so deeply cut into her skin that they left a mark.

Rogue looked away from Magneto's growing crinkles of concern and down at her hand. She remembered the marks on her hand and pulled it away. "Wash my hand under warm water. Yeah, I know. I'll do that." Rogue took her glove from Magneto too. She dared a peek up at Magneto and saw the question in his eye. Not being able to handle it Rogue turned and began walking away.

She stopped though after ten steps and turned half way round to face Magneto. "Let's not do this again. We really didn't get anywhere and I can't be bothered going through years of tickle tackle like you and the Professor."

"My dear, this is nothing like mine and Charles' conflict. There is a part of you that believes in what the Brotherhood are doing. That's all I needed to know."

"But you're still not done. I know you remember." Again Rogue tapped the side of her head. "But you know nothing about me."

"Then perhaps I could learn. Starting with the scars on you're hands and the ability to heal yourself so fast."

"You'll never learn about who I really am. You're too bent on changing everyone to see your view to stop and actually see others for who they really are. I'm no different in you're eye. Besides, I've got enough mental problems as it is that complicates things and who I am. But, they're apart of me now; the voices in my head. It's why I'm so hard to get a straight answer from. The straight answer you want."

And with that, Rogue turned and left Magneto in the empty hall.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

Magneto was back in his office, in his desk chair, thinking. There was a knock at the door and Mystique entered. "She's gotten to you, hasn't she?" Mystique asked. Magneto only just noticed her presence and looked to her. "She's good, isn't she?"

Magneto took in a breath and exhaled deeply. "Indeed, she is."

"She sort of reminds me of you." Magneto raised his eyebrow at Mystique who had a grin on her face.

"I don't see the resemblance."

Mystique laughed. "Oh you see it alright and you like it." Mystique said, gripping some of her hair at the front of her head and twirling it around her finger. Mystique was never usually girly in such terms, and Magneto understood her banter.

Magneto couldn't hide his smile. "She's smart, I'll give her that." Magneto threw back at her and went back to deep thinking."There's something about her. Something that does sit well with me."

Mystique's smile faded too. "The darker side to her. That look in her eyes she gets when she's in deep thought."

"Not just in her eyes." Magneto said. "There were deep cuts on her hand which she didn't seem to want me to see. I have a surspion."

"You think she's been experimented on? During the time she's been away from the X-Men? That would make sense about the sad tortured look in her eyes. But..."

"But what Mystique?"

"I've never seen someone recover so fast like that before."

"Me neither... I think she's stronger than she appears. As you know, she's not that scared little girl anymore. She's a harsh killer. Perhaps, dealing with what's happened to her through her anger."

Mystique nodded her head. "Did you find out which side she's on?"

"No. She decided to be tricky when answering that question."

"Like you." Mystique couldn't help the comment. A checky smile graced her lips and Magneto raised his eyebrow at her check.

"What are you doing now?" Magneto asked, deciding to drop the subject.

"Training Rogue. She seeked me out this morning and asked for another class. I told her three sharp in the gym. I'm leaving now to be there before her." Magneto raised his eyebrow. There was another thing that added to his idea. "You want me to find out what's happened to her during the past year?" Mystique didn't look pleased.

"Find out anything you can, but I believe I may have to take control of this too."

Mystique nodded her head. "Takes you to crack open you." And with that confusing comment to Magneto, Mystique left.

XXXXX

Rogue was laid out on the mat again, breathing heavy.

"You were sloppy again. You need to focus."

Rogue forced herself up to her feet. Mystique studied her. Rogue was breathing heavily and there was a look of dizziness in her eyes. "Have you eaten today."

Rogue was slow to answer, but finally shuck her head, no.

Mystique frowned. "You need to eat to saver your energy for fighting. We'll end this class for today and your to go straight to the cafeteria and eat something filling."

Rogue nodded and straighted up out of her fighting stand. She nodded her head to Mystique and said, "Thank you." Before turning around and leaving. Mystique watched her leave.

Rogue walked slowly and dazedly towards the cafeteria. She was feeling the tiredness more now and feeling the pain more. Mystique had reveded up the tentesity today and her hits were harder. Although she wasn't bleeding today, Mystique had kicked her in all the really bad places. Bad enough, that Rogue had to stop her walk once out of sight of Mystique and just stand still for a moment to swallow the pain and present a level head. The dizziness wasn't helping things at all. Rogue had been here with the Brotherhood for a good few days, coming to a week, and Rogue still hadn't made any friends. Rogue didn't want to either. She felt too awkward in the cafeteria during the day, so at the night time, Rogue would come down to the kitchen and slavish what food was left over, which wasn't much, but it was still something to keep her going. Last night though, she'd had a decent black night's sleep and (as every other night was a nightmare) she just felt so tired, that she passed up food for sleep.

Rogue stopped at the enterence to the cafeteria and looked in. She knew no one in there and had already over heard the whispers and hatered towards her about how she was new and straight away got to live in the main base where some of them had been there for years and not gotten anywhere near the main base. Rogue knew she had made enimies without even trying and some of those enimies were in there. She did want to get food, but she didn't want to run into them and have them start a fight with her (which some had tired to during the past few days).

"You gonna stand there all day blocking the door?" Rogue turned around and came face to face with Pyro. Rogue wasn't sure what to say or do. He was looking at her, iritated. "You gonna move?"

Rogue stepped aside and Pyro walked into the cafeteria. He stopped and turned back around to look at her. "You coming in or what?"

Rogue looked at him, then looked towards the table full of the people who hated her, then back to Pyro. She shuck her head, no.

Pyro shruck his shoulders, "Suit yourself." And Pyro turned around and went to sit at the table where all the people who hated Rogue sat. Rogue watched him for a moment at the door. One of the girls at the table who was sat next to Pyro motioned towards her at the door. The girl gave Rogue evil death glares. When Pyro turned around, he didn't seem arsed about seeing her there. In fact he turned his head around shaking it, no, he has no idea was what Rogue read from his lips. He had no idea why she was stood there staring at him. Even after it had been explained to him, he still didn't want to know her; just like all the rest of them.

Rogue turned, seeing no point of remaining in a door way and headed back towards her little room.

"What are you doing Rogue?" Rogue rolled her eyes, then turned around to face Magneto.

"Going back to the room I was given to stay in while I'm here."

"Your room? Have you just eaten?"

Rogue nodded her head. "Yeah." She said.

Magneto raised his eyebrows warningly. "You're not trying to lie to me are you Rogue?"

Rogue stayed quiet for a moment, not sure what to do or say. Then she shrugged her shoulders. "Is there something I can help you with or do for you?"

Magneto dropped his eyebrow, but there was still annoyance in his eyes. "Yes, come with me."

Rogue folded her arms, not much in the mood for Magneto's power games at the moment. She just wanted her bed and to sleep. She followed him though. Followed him to his office. She stopped in the doorway, unsure wheather to step in or not.

"Come in Rogue and have a seat at the table." Rogue did as she was told and watched Magneto move to the other side of the room where there was a very small kitchen area. He mentally turned on the kettle and pulled out a tin of beans and a loaf of breed. Rogue looked around the office while he was busy in the kitchen. There was a large window behind a study desk and chair that had a nice view of the forest and a lake off in the distance. Towards the wall that Rogue was facing, there was a large book shelve full of old leather bound books. Next to the little kitchen was a door that was closed. Rogue wondered what that door lead to. Maybe a safe room or some secret weapon room or something that was of importance.

The kettle clicked, indicating it was finished heating. Magneto lifted the kettle using his powers. "Tea or coffee?"

"Coffee. Black, no sugar." Magneto stopped what he was doing and opened a pot that was on the side. He used his powers to have a small spoon come to his hand and scooped out a spoonful of coffee. He used his powers to pour the hot water and stir the coffee while he went back to buttering the toast which had just tinged done, then took the beans out of microwave and poured it over the toast. He brought two cups over using his powers and placed the plate in front of Rogue. She frowned. "I said I'd already eaten."

"And I told you not to lie to me."

Rogue pouted and looked down at the food. The smell of toast was amazing to her nose.

"Eat!" He commanded, picking up his own cup of coffee and drinking it.

Rogue looked up to him. "I didn't realise you were boss of my diet Magneto."

"Somebody needs to look after you."

Rogue's mood went in to different directions. One, she liked the act that someone cared for her, two, she hated that he treated her like a child. "I don't need anyone to look after me."

"I begged a differ. Your a walking skeleton with hardly any meat on you. It's not healthy or attractive. Eat!"

"Who says I wanna be attractive."

Magneto slammed his fist down on the table which shuck Rogue back in her chair."Do not argue with me on this Rogue!" Rogue sat back, quietly watching him trying to get control of his anger. Rogue was annoied he was trying to force her to do something, but moved by his reaction. A fork flew over from the kitchen draw and hovered in front of Rogue. She looked from the fork, back to Magneto. He glared at her, waiting. Rogue looked back to the hovering fork, took it and looked back at Magneto one more time. He still hadn't moved and was watching her intensely. Finally Rogue digged her fork into the beans and lift a fork full to her mouth. The bean juice it came in was lush in her mouth and the sweet taste was heaven. Rogue looked back up to Magneto to see him relaxing.

"Is there another reason you pulled me in here."

Magneto picked up his coffee again. "Just eat Rogue. We can talk later." And he supped his coffee again.

Rogue looked down and lifted another forkfull to her mouth. There was silence between the two for a while. Magneto had collected a newspaper from the desk and began reading that while Rogue ate. When she was finished and Magneto heard the tap of a fork being placed on an empty plate, he looked up to Rogue. She had eaten everything on her plate. "Good girl."

The metal plate and fork left her and piled up in the sink. Rogue watched Magneto, waiting for him to say something. "Well?" She asked.

"Well what my dear?"

"Why did you want to see me?"

Rogue was waiting for it and had been waiting for it (well one of the many questions he'd want answers to from her). She wondered if the meal he'd just given her was posined or that he felt sorry for her and was giving her one last meal before he kicked her out with nothing or even kill her, now, after one last nice thing. Either way she was waiting for him to say the words. But he was silent. He breathed in a large breath then let it go.

"What happened to you after you left Xaveirs?" Magneto questioned.

Rogue hadn't been expecting that and sank back in her chair. A few brief, but still painful memories pasted before her.

"A lotta things."

Magneto sat up straighter and moved closer to her over the table. "You know some of my deepest darkest memories Rogue. Don't you think it's only fair I know yours."

"What makes you think I have deep dark secrets?"

"We all have deep dark secrets. Even if they're little ones, they still matter to that person. But it's obvious that your not just hiding any small secret, but big life changing ones. I need to know what changed you Rogue."

"Why? Why do you need to know anything about me?"

Magneto was silent and still. He could tell he wasn't getting anywhere with her. At last he reached over the table taking her hand in his firmly. He looked her in the eyes and said, "Please, just tell me. I want to know what haughts your eyes and what's changed such a sweet innocent girl into a heartless killer."

Rogue looked down to their hands. He knew how to play. He knew how to play every well. Rogue could see Magneto wanted this answer badly and that he wasn't going to back down from this. She decided that she'd just have to give in and take control.

"What do you want to know?" Asked Rogue.

"What did you do when Charles abandoned you? Where did you go?"

He was still holding her hand. Rogue looked away from his calm blue eyes and to their hands. "A cheap hotel. I paid for it using the money the Professor gave me."

"How long did you stay in New York?"

"About a week or two. I don't know. I wasn't really counting the days, I was just more interested in finding out what was happening."

"How did you go about finding out information." Asked Magento.

"Simple. I walked right up to them and asked. They all looked at me strange as if I'd lost my mind and was some sorta spy."

"What happened?"

"We got into a few arguements. I tried to explain things. Explain that the Professor had wiped their memories of me, but that I didn't know why. But, who would you believe? A man you've known and trusted for most of your life telling you he didn't do something, or a stranger you've talked to for five seconds telling you he's lieing?"

Magneto let out a sigh which showed he understood. "Something else must have happened. They attacked you back in the White House. Why?"

Rogue shrugged her shoudlers and looked away from him completely. "I might have...lost my temper when Logan started talking to me like some white trash in a bar... I screamed at him. Screamed about how he'd almost died for me once and that he was a heartless beast just throwing me out like that... I... Kinda insulted them all and let it slip at the same time that I knew alot about their lives and the X-Men's secrets. They got a little freaked out by that and tried locking me up so I couldn't go away revealing secrets. I got out of the cell though... And got a little bit of revenge." Rogue was looking down to her lap as if embarrised by her actions.

Magneto raised his eyebrows. It seemed every time he looked at this girl lately she had something new to suprize him with. "What did you do for revenge?"

"I... started a fire... I piled up all their X-Men uniforms and stuff and burned them. It was just to show that I was done with them as people, but the fire grew and I accidently set half the building on fire... There was an explotion too, but I don't think any kids got hurt... Much."

A small chuckle escaped Magneto. Rogue looked up to see that he seemed amused. "And all this time we thought that was Pyro who started the fire. Though, to be fair, we never asked him if he did."

"No, it wasn't him. He was there at the time, but he didn't start the fire. I did. I don't even think he saw me when I confronted the X-Men."

"It appears so. So after you started the fire you escaped?"

"Yeah, I ran away. Left the state like the Professor wanted. I think you've got enough information there." Rogue pulled her hand away from Magneto.

Magneto closed his hand into a fist on the table, then brought it back. "Fairly well. You may leave if you wish."

Rogue nodded her head then stood up to go. "But Rogue, don't think our conversations over. I know there's more to your story then just that and I want to know what your hiding."

"So you can know if I'm a threat or not?"

Magneto didn't get a chance to reply as his door was burst open. "Magneto, you might wanna-" Pyro stopped seeing Rogue. He seemed to glare at her and Rogue looked right back at him. Then Pyro looked passed her as if she never existed and began talking to Magneto. It hurt. "There's a news report about who's going to take over the old president's job. You might wanna see who's gonna be voted for."

Rogue took it as her que to leave and walked passed Pyro to the door. Pyro looked down on Rogue giving her a dirty look as she passed.

Magneto watched the whole transaction unfold and as Rogue left he used his powers to close the door.

"You could be a little more nicer to the girl Pyro."

Pyro chocked on his laughter. "What?" He'd never in a million years thought he'd hear Magneto tell him to be nice to someone. If anything Magneto got annoied if he was nice to people.

"You catch more flies with honey than vinger, Pyro."

"Why would I wanna caught her or want anything to do with her for that matter?"

Magento raised his eyebrow at Pyro and stood up. He tooked his hands behind his back like he normally did and came to stand by his window. "Are you telling me your not the slightest bit curious as to who she is and what she states is true?"

Pyro shrugged his shoulders. "Not really. Not got much to do with me has it?"

"Why Pyro, it has everything to do with you. If, what Rogue is saying is true and Charles has entered not only your mind, but the mind of others, what memories has he taken from you and what events has he changed in your mind? How do you know that everything in your life isn't just a made up bubble Charles has put you in?"

"I think I'd know if I'd forgotten something or if something had changed in my mind."

"No, I don't think you would. Charles is a very powerful telepath and can make you believe in whatever he wants you to believe. Pyro, Rogue is your salvation. By ignoring her and pushing her away your ignoring and pushing away the facts that your memories have been stolen and your mind twisted. How do you feel knowing someone has entered your mind and changed everything you've ever believed in against your will."

Pyro was shaking his head, no, in disbelieve. "No... No, he can't- She can't-"

Magneto turned around fully to face Pyro. "And now you see why it is so important that we keep her close and find out everything she knows without pushing her away or scaring her. If she clams up and refuses to tell us we have no way of knowing what Charles has been up to."

"But... but, what about you? You've got your helmet. That blocks telepaths. That blocks him. You remembered who you are. Why do we need her when we have you to tell us what is right and what's wrong."

"Because Pyro I don't always wear my helmet and I am and haven't been as close to Charles and the X-Men as Rogue has. She will have inside information. All we have to do is reel it out of her."

"So you want me to befriend her and get to know what the hells happening with the X-Men?"

"If it was as easy as that Pyro I would have had the answers long ago and I doubt she would be here. The girl's very stubborn minded and she knows our tactics. She's absorbed us all and knows how we all think and what we want from her. We've got to woo her onto our side Pyro, not force her. And when she is one of us, not only will we have a new powerful weapon at our disposal, but we'll also have the answers we need. Now, what channel is it?"

Magneto turned to face the book shelves were there was a television screen in the middle of it.

"Channel six."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

Rogue had gone to the wreck room where all the other mutants were watching the news. Rogue's anger suddenly increased as she watched the news.

"_And the next candidate who wishes to compete for your votes is Doctor Nathanial Essex._" Said the guy on the TV.

There were claps for him as he came on stage with his skin painted peach and his black hair covering the red diamond in the middle of his fore head. He had contacts in and was dressed up in a black suit. Just seeing that twisted horrible evil smile of his made Rogue shiver and shake with fear and anger. She couldn't stomach to see this any longer. Rogue turned on her heels and left the enterance to the wreck room. She stormed down the corridors and stormed out of the building. The tention was raising in her the further she got and the more she held it in, but where ever she looked there were people there. She didn't want people to see her. She couldn't cope with people seeing her. She didn't want their judgements about her. She just wanted out. And as soon as she got outside, Rogue began running in the forest. She ran and ran and ran until the tight burn in her chest was too tight and painful that she couldn't take it anymore. Rogue let out an agronising scream and fell to her knees as she let it escape her. Birds flew up out of their trees and other land animals ran for cover too. Rogue's breathing was ruggid and heavy, but she felt freer. She felt somewhat freed.

But not fully. Rogue held her head as horrrible flashes of memories passed. She hated the memories. Hated them. She could feel the pain of each and every one of them and how they made her sick. Hot tears started to form, but Rogue thought back. She wiped roughtly at her eyes and thought to pick herself back up and get back on with her life now. She wasn't a prisoner now and she didn't need to fear him. He had no idea where she was or who she was with. He couldn't hurt her if he didn't have her and he didn't. Finally, Rogue picked herself up on shakely legs and began looking around her.

She had lost herself in the forest. Rogue thought that if she just turned around and went straight back up then she'd find the base. But then Rogue though of all those strangers eyes on her as she passed and how she'd only end up locking herself in her cell like room anyway. Instead of going back, Rogue turned around and kept going forwards. Not sure where she was going or what she was doing. Rogue just kept going until she came to a river. The river wasn't big, but it wasn't small. It was a nice steady one that she reckonised as being the one from Magneto's window.

She looked around her, but couldn't see Magneto's window, so she figured she must be a little more up stream. Rogue sat at the edge of the lake, deciding to take her shoes and socks off so she could put her feet into the cold water. It numbed because it was cold, but other than that, the water felt nice. It reminded Rogue of the first home she'd ever had back in Mississipi. She used to have a den next to the river where she would play and hide and no one knew about it because it was her secret and her sceret alone.

"Hey."

Rogue turned around to look behind her. It was Pyro. He was walking out of the forest, hands in his jeans and casually walking over.

"Hi." Rogue said. She wondered why he didn't look at her in anger like he usually did. "What's up?"

"Nothing really. Heard a scream. Thought I'd come check it out. Was that you?"

"I thought you were showing Magneto something?"

"I was, but the show finished. Nothing else I could do except leave the big man to come up with another plan."

"He's making a plan to kill the new candidates for president."

"You got a problem with that?" Pyro asked.

Rogue knew her answer, but thought what could happen if she gave her true answer to Pyro. Finally she shuck her head, "No."

"Good, 'cause if you were to have a problem, you'd probley get hate about it from the other Brotherhood members. You don't seem to be getting along with any of them at the moment. Well, none except Mystique, but even then she's kicking your arse up an down the gym."

Pyro had come to sit down next to Rogue, which she found strange. "We're not fighting. She's training me. That's all."

"Yeah and your getting your butt handed to you every time."

"Well what do you expect? I've only just started fighting. She's been fighting for years-"

"Whoa, whoa, calm down sparky. I was just teasing. I know you're only training. Gee, keep you hair on." Pyro noticed that something about that comment hurt Rogue and she looked back to the river with hurt in her eye. "Sorry, just, people around here are used to me taking the mick you know? But, then again, you don't really get on with the people around here do you?" Pyro jumped up to his feet. "Tell you what, how 'bout I introduce you to some people you can befriend and eat meals with at lunch?" He held his hand out to Rogue.

Rogue looked to Pyro's hand, then looked up to his eyes. She knew Pyro and knew he liked pranks and jokes. She looked into his eyes for any tell. There was none. Rogue wanted to believe he was being friendly. She did, but it just wasn't like him. Though, she hadn't known him for over a year. Maybe she should give him a chance. Rogue gave a light hearted smile, as awkward and unused as it was, she placed her hand in his and he helped her to her feet.

Pyro led them back to the base as he knew the way much better. Rogue stayed right behind him as he led them back into the base. Rogue felt awkward holding Pyro's hand and they were getting strange looks as they walked passed people. She tried pulling her hand out from his, but he kept a firm grip on her hand.

Pyro took Rogue into the wreck room, heading towards the sofa where the people he was sat with before were at. The people who hated Rogue for getting straight into the metal base.

"Pyro." Rogue said pulling him to a holt. "They don't like me."

Pyro shrugged. "They don't like anyone. You just gotta stick your head up and defend yourself. Come on."

Rogue didn't get to say anything more. They were stood before the others before Rogue could object again.

"Hey." Pyro said, letting go of Rogue's hand and dropping down on the sofa. The others ignored Pyro and glared at Rogue. Rogue meet each and every one of their eyes then looked back to Pyro, folding her arms where she stood. "Well don't say hi back then." Pyro said.

"What's she doing here?" Said a girl with blond hair to her shoulders.

"Everyone this is Rogue. Rogue this is everyone. You all play nicely together now like good little children."

"Can it Pyro! You're not welcome here." Said a blue skinned mutant with a darker blue patch over her eye to Rogue.

"Well apparently I am as Magneto hasn't kicked me out yet." They all looked to her, irritates in their eyes.

"That's not what I meant." Said the blue mutant.

"I know. And I also know you don't like me 'cause I'm a newbie. Well guess what." Rogue moved to sit down on the sofa next to Pyro. "I really couldn't care less." Pyro had a smuggle little grin on his face as he altered himself so Rogue had more of a place to sit and he wrapped his arm around the back of the sofa behind her.

Rogue, on the other hand, was putting on a show. It was easy to be defensive when people were asking her questions and trying to break her, but she found it was harder trying to enforce herself on other people. She seemed to be doing well though.

The blue mutant raised her eyebrow. "Well then, I can see why Pyro invited you over. You're just as big headed as him. Becareful where you step though hunny. You never know who you might end up pissing off with that attitude."

"Wait, we're just gonna let her sit here? Just like that." The girl with blond hair clicked her fingers. "Dom, she took the room that should have been yours."

The blue mutant shrugged her shoulders. "I know, but remember luck is always on my side. Must be a good reason why I didn't move into that room. Am I right?"

"The room's very cramped and there's hardly any space to move. And it gets very hot at a night time since there's no window to open."

"Told ya." The blue mutant said with a smile on her face to the blond. The blue mutant looked back to Rogue. "I'm Domino by the way. This is Boom-boom." Boom-boom rolled her eyes, got up and walked away. "Don't worry about her. She's a little more touchy than us. She'll come back once she calms down."

"Yeah, I don't really care if she doesn't like me or not. Only reason I came over here was 'cause of him."

"Hey, don't shot the guy who's made you a new ally." Pyro said, putting his hands up in the air.

"We're not allies yet Pyro. Don't go counting your sheep." Domino said to Pyro.

"Don't need to. Don't have any."

Both Rogue and Domino rolled there eyes. "So, why are you here?"

"I'd think Pyro had told you all about my crazy antics by now." Rogue looked to Pyro out of the corner of her eye and then back to Domino.

"Believe me, Boom-boom pestered and pestered, but he wouldn't budge. So tell me. Why are you here?"

Rogue looked from Domino to Pyro and saw that Pyro's smile had dropped. He hadn't told them that she was some kind of creepy stalker or just plan weird from saying she had been in a past he can't remember. She wondered why. "Just..."

"You killed the president too, hmmm. How was that like?"

Rogue looked up to meet Domino's eyes. Then looked away. "Truthfully. It was soul destorying. Mind ripping. Gut renching... It changed me. Changed who I was and who I thought I was... But in away, I already knew I'd changed...Shoting the president was just the final bult to awake me and then I meet Magneto and things just all came together and made sense. I knew who I was and I just... I just joined up with the Brotherhood. First kill. "Rogue added at seeing Domino's raised eyebrow.

"Hmmm, well, that was insightful." Domino said, an awkward silence hanging in the air. Rogue was serious in what she had said. Everything else that she thought made sense in her life had finally changed and from that moment nothing made much sense until Magneto found her and his ideology gave her hope and understanding. Ever since getting kicked out of the X-Men, things had happened to her. Bad things. A lot of bad bad things. Things that had broken her and were slowly changing her still till finally she'd snapped. She thought it was the moment she decided and planned how to kill the president, but it wasn't. It was when she actually killed another life. It was hard, but it proved a point within her. It showed her darker side. It showed that she was really willing to do things she would never normally do for her sake and the rest of mutant kind.

"So, how'd you two meet?" Domino asked. Her question brought Rogue out of her deep thinking.

"At Xaveirs. Rogue used to go to the stupid place too only I hardly ever saw her so I didn't know she existed till a few days ago. Meet her in the corridors, started talking to her and thought I'd introduce her instead of having her walking around thinking she wasn't apart of the Brotherhood. After all, we all look out for each other here. One for all and all for all and what not here with us."

Rogue and Domino laughted at Pyro's stupid impression of being a musater.

"Was he always this dumb when you knew him?"Domino asked.

Rogue had an evil smile craft her face. "Oh no." Said Pyro.

Both girls started laughing again.

"He wasn't that bad, although he wasn't that good either. I remember this one time, we were out on a school trip, and these boys came over to us and asked Pyro for his lighter, only Pyro started teasing them and when they finally snatched it off him, he made one of their cigarettes blow up in a boy's face."

Both Domino and Rogue laughted. But Rogue noticed the stiffeness of Pyro besides her. When she looked to him, Pyro seemed a bit taken back. "You were there for that?" He asked.

Rogue's laughter was lost and her face sank. That was another memory she wasn't apart of. Rogue looked away from Pyro then stood up. "Well, I think I'm gonna go get a shower then go bed. I'm pretty tired after having Mystique kick my arse this morning. It was nice meeting you Domino. Sorry for taking your room."

"Don't worry about it." Said Domino. "Be seeing you round then."

"Yeah. Be seeing you." And Rogue left them.

XXXXX

It was late and Rogue was lay down on her back looking up to the dark bedroom ceiling. She'd woken up from another nightmare. There was no light at all in her room. She let her eyes adjust to the darkness. Rogue had been thinking of Xaveir's mansion again and going through all the events that had happened to her since she'd been kicked out. Images of Dr Essex or Sinister as she knew him came to mind. Very horrible imagies. Untill finally Rogue couldn't stand it anymore and went in search for a distraction once again.

Rogue left her room and started wondering the empty corridors. She already knew how to get around, so by the time she had walked every corridor, she thought she had mastered her way around.

Rogue ended up coming out into the cafeteria again. Rogue was feeling a little thristy and thought to get some food too. So Rogue walked through the cafe and into the connected kitchen and made herself a coffee and two pieces of toate with jam on them.

When Rogue came out of the kitchen to sit at one of the tables, she was suprized to find Magneto was already sat at one. They locked eyes from across the cafe. Rogue felt like the child who had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. "Midnight feast I see." Rogue looked down to the cup and plate of toate. She hoped she really wasn't in trouble for taking food. "It's good to see you willingly eat." Rogue looked up from her food to look into Magneto's eyes. They were calm cool and gentle. Rogue decided that she didn't have to avoid him and went to sit down opposite him. "What are you doing up so late Rogue, or should I say early? It's four o'clock in the morning, again."

Rogue shrugged her shoulders as she picked up her toate. "Guess we're both just early risers." And she bit her toast. Moments past where neither said anything to the other. After swollowing her toast Rogue asked, "Nightmares again?" In a very calm and gentle voice.

Magneto seemed to lose his ease. "You know of what I dream Rogue?"

Rogue nodded and tapped the side of her head. "I have your memories too... I sometimes, wake up from your nightmares... Was it about your mother's death again?" Magneto didn't answer, instead he looked behind Rogue and held out his arm as a metal mug of coffee came to his hand. "I...I don't know how you cope with it. I had to have the Professor block most of your memories off, but... Sometimes they still come back. It's no wonder why you fight so hard to make sure mutants don't go through the same fate."

Rogue put down her toast and suddenly didn't feel like eating. "The memories never go away, but what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger and I, my dear, intend to grow stronger with each passing day until I die."

Rogue looked back up to Magneto who watched her as he supped his coffee. "You know, your moma would be proud of you right?"Magneto removed his eyes from her and placed down his cup. Rogue reached across the table, cupping her hand around his as he had done to her before."Of everything you've accomplished and tried to do. Somethings you know she would have smitten you for them, but what you've become after such tragic events... She can defently rest in peace." Rogue had somewhat of a sad face as she said such moving words. Magneto couldn't meet her eye for the time. Rogue compared herself to Magneto and thought of all the tragic events she had been apart of. She skulled herself for not even coming up close to being or doing anything amazing as Magneto had done. She felt Magneto shift his hand under hers. She thought she had overstepped the line, but instead Magneto held her hand tightly in his. She looked up to him, his blue eyes hard and strong.

"Thank you Rogue." He said, squeezing her hand tightly. There was a moment shared between them where neither looked away. Where Rogue saw new found strengh and hope in Magneto's eyes, Magneto still saw the pain and torture in hers. "It seems unkind for you to know so much about me, yet I know so little about you and what is making you upset. Please tell me Rogue, why do you look so sad?"

Rogue turned her head away from Magneto and drew back her hand. She picked up her toast and took another bit out of it.

Magneto stiffened. "Why do you refuse to tell me how you survived on your own? I take it there is a reason that cannot be a good one."

Rogue looked up to meet his eyes. "There are things about me I'm not ready to share yet. It was you're own choice to take a risk with me and you knew the consequences."

"Indeed, I did. So, it is an issue of trust."

Rogue turned back to eating her toast. "It's not to be unexpected. After all betreyed by first your family for them finding out what you are, and then being turned away from the X-Men, a place you thought you could turn into a home."

Rogue put down her toast and looked back up to Magneto. "Yeah, not to meantion that you can't seem to trust anyone in life. Not even you." She picked up her coffee and took a sip of it.

"Indeed not me. I'm a man with a goal and will do anything to achieve it. At least you know that I am not to be trusted. However, they always say it's the innocent one's you have to becareful of. But you're not as innocent anymore are you? Tell me Rogue, what was your goal in killing the president?"

Rogue went silent and looked down to her toast. How did he know to ask what she was just thinking about? Why did he have to pick at that? It only reminded her of things. Things she didn't want to think about. "Rogue?" Asked Magento.

Rogue looked up to meet his questioning gaze. She gave an attempt at a smile then stood up. "I best go catch up on as much sleep as I can before my session with Mystique. If not then she'll kill my arse easier than usual. Good morning." And Rogue started to walk off, taking her plate and cup into the kitchen so she could clean them.

"I'm afraid Mystique won't be able to teach you're class this morning."

Rogue stopped and turned to look at Magneto. "Huh?"

"I've sent her on a mission. She is not here."

"Oh." Rogue said rather quietly and disapointedly. "OK." Her fighting classes with Mystique seemed to be the only thing she looked forwards to while she was here. Rogue might of made a new ally in Pyro and Domino, but they still asked questions and reminded her of things she didn't want to think about. Same with Magneto actually. There was no one else she could turn to and nothing else she could do around the base. "For how long?" Rogue asked.

"I'm afraid I don't know. It depends how fast Mystique can... Finish her mission."

"What's the typical amount of time she spends away on these...Missions you set her?"

"About a week."

"Oh." Rogue said again quietly. She could picture her days going by slowly and lonely in that little box cell. Maybe she could explore the forest to keep herself entertained. But apart from that she wasn't sure what she was going to do. Rogue turned to leave.

"I hear you have rekindled your relationship with Pyro again and befriended Domino. Does this mean you won't be joining me for tea from now on?"

Rogue turned around with a puzzled, amused look on her face. "How'd you know about that?"

"Word travels fast and it is always useful to know what is happening amoungest the people who are working for you so you can preditic and prepare for the dramas awaiting to unfold. So, will you join me for tea?"

Rogue was a little bewildered by that question. "Do you mean join you for a cup of coffee or me eating and you drinking coffee?"

"If you have not eaten again then food and coffee it shall be?"

"When do you eat?" Rogue felt like it was a personal and strange question to ask, but she thought it funny. She hadn't once seen him eat anything. She found it funny to picture the 'bad guy' eating food at all.

"Four."

Rogue raised her eyebrow. "In your office?"

"Yes."

"Why do you eat away from people?"

"I find eating with others is more of a social gathering; paying more attention to the actual person you are with than eating the food you are suppose to be eating. And I find talking too much over a meal ruins it."

Rogue nodded her head. "So you wouldn't want company then?"

"If you wish to join me an hour earlier than you can do."

"Maybe that'll be best. Least if you're not talking you can't ask me any questions."

"Perhaps." Rogue smiled and turned around to finish walking to the kitchen. "I will find out what is troubling you my dear. It can't all be down to just the X-Men."

Rogue stopped and looked over her shoulder at Magneto. "You can try sugar. You can try." And then she dissapeared into the kitchen.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Magneto had been stropping around his office for ten minutes now. She was late. Magneto had set up the table and prepared the food, yet she was late. He wondered if she was even going to show or if she was making a fool out of him. There was a knock on his door and then it opened. Rogue was on the other side.

"My what happened to you?" Magneto asked, raising an eyebrow at the dirt all over her body, her ripped clothes and messy hair with a twig in it. She was panting slightly.

"Sorry. Fell out of a tree. Sorry I'm late. Hmmm, do you mind if I grab a shower first and change? I kind of stink."

Magneto held back his smile and laughter. "If you must."

Rogue nodded her head and kept it down like a shy little child. That only made him want to smile more.

"Please don't let me stop you from eating." Rogue said.

"Go have your shower Rogue."

Rogue nodded her head. She still looked like an embarrised child. She left, closing the door behind her. Magneto moved to sit behind his desk, silently laughing to himself., all anger forgotten about.

XXXXX

Rogue rushed through her shower, then changed into casual jeans and a long sleeved t-shirt. Mystique had given Rogue a few more clothes before she left. She was glad about that or else Rogue would have to change back into her baggy clothes she came here with. Rogue left her hair down as it was too short to pull back into a bobble or tie it up and ran back to Magneto's office. She knocked on his door.

It opened on it's own and Rogue saw Magneto was just begining to stand up from behind his desk. His eyes were that gentle blue as they normally were. And to think she used to see them as evil mad hard grey eyes. His light blue eyes were just so calming to her now, they reminded her of when you look out to the ocean and the sky kisses the sea. They were beautiful and peaceful. No one would be able to tell by looking at them all the hard times he'd been through. Magneto gave a light smile to Rogue as she stepped inside.

He couldn't help but smile at her red checks and dripping wet hair. It had taken an extra ten minutes, but she was finally here and ready to have tea with him.

"Have you eaten already?" Rogue asked.

"No. It would not be gentlemen like to begin eating without you." Magneto moved over to the small kitchen where he pulled out a clean white towel. "Here." He said as he walked towards Rogue.

She looked down at the towel a little confused and then looked up to him. He was stood close to her again. She liked it. When she didn't take the towel, Magneto took it upon himself to reach up and wrap the cloth around the ends of Rogue's short, yet fair wet hair. Rogue watched his face as he focused on drying her hair. His hands were nice and gentle. Soft as they stroked her hair through the cloth. Soon he resulted to wrapping the cloth around her head and drying her full head. He had to step closer then and wrap his arms loosely around her head. Rogue just kept watching his face. He looked down at her too as he gently massaged her head through the cloth. There was another moment between them. They both knew it, but neither did anything about it; neither took the leap or backed away. They waited for the other to do so, but they didn't. Instead they each took the time to enjoy being this close to each other.

Atlas, Magneto had finsihed drying Rogue's hair so it no longer dripped wet. He removed the cloth from her head and stepped back. "Shall we eat?" He asked her.

Rogue gave a small smile. "Sure."

They both walked over to the table and sat down at it. Magneto placed the cloth on the kitchen side first before using his powers to bring the metal plates of food over to them from out of the oven. With his mind he turned the metal dial on the oven off. In front of both Rogue and Magneto was now a warm plate of spagetti bolonaze.

"So, I take it from the twig in your hair you have been out in the forest today."

"Yeah. It was getting kinda stuffy inside. I really don't know how this place doesn't drive you crazy. How long have y'all been hiding out here?"

"A few years. I understand how prison like the base can feel. It is why most perfer to camp outside in the forest. For me, the metal" Magneto held up his hand and from the metal walls, a metal sphere formed in his palm. "is a heaven for me."

Rogue stared at the metal ball in his hand which swirled around in his hand. "I...I think I remember what it felt like. What it feels like... It sings to you, doesn't it? I think I remember it sing to me. It was beautiful, but... it didn't last long once the machine started."

Magneto moved to take off his glove, keeping the metal ball in the air with his mind and reached his hand across the table to Rogue. Rogue looked down at his hand, them up to him. "Go on. Listen to it."

Rogue looked down to his hand then back up to his face. Rogue slowly removed her black leather glove and slowly moved her hand to his. She looked back down to his hand , then, at the last moment, back up to him. As she wrapped her small fingers around his firm palm, the memories came flooding in. She closed her eyes and embrassed it. Horrible memories and resent ones. Rogue was able to push them back quickly before she could see anything. Then she felt it. She heard it. She hurried the humming of the metal that was as glorious as hearing a whole orchestra playing in harmony. Rogue felt the gentle carries of the metal as it hummed around her. Then she felt the movement of Magneto's hand in hers. She took her hand back.

"Do you hear it clearer now?" Magneto asked in his deep soft voice.

"Yes." Rogue said. She opened her eyes to see Magneto looking a little tired. That was another funny thing, she thought. She'd never think of a 'bad guy' sleeping. She wondered what Magneto would look like when he was asleep. She bet he'd look peaceful.

Rogue's eyes moved of his peaceful face to the ball sphere besides him. She could feel it. Hear it sing. She moved it with her mind so that the cold smooth metal came to touch her skin. The metal seemed extra special with Magneto's powers as it touched her. She looked to him to see a little smile on his face as she embrassed the metal.

"It's really amazing what you hear. What you feel. No wondered you don't feel trapped at all in here. It's empowering."

"Indeed it is. When I try to explain this to Mystique, she doesn't understand as well as us as she has never heard it's music. She has never felt it's power. It must be quite amazing to feel what every other mutants' endulgance in their powers feels like."

Rogue pulled on a small smile, and Magneto lost his. "No?"

"It's... Alright I guess. It depends on the power. With yours, it's beautful. With others, like Wolverine's it hurts." Rogue made a fist and looked down at her nuckles. She snorted. "Everytime." Rogue put down her fist and put down the metal sphere as she felt Magneto's powers fade. She looked back to him. "The memories and thoughts hurt too. They just burst into your head like an unexpected migrain. The worser the memories the worser the migrain... Then it's living with the memories and thoughts." Rogue began massaging her temples. "The stronger the memory the harder it is to push back and forget about. And... As for the persona, they all just pop up at random times and like to make comments about a load of random things. I manage to push them back and lock away the personas and memories, but they still get loose and free during the day. Especially when I'm on my own and tired. Night time is when they really get me."

"I am sorry. I never wished to cause you any harm of having to witness what I have been through. To be fair, I tried to kill you so you wouldn't have to suffer my memories." Magneto reached out the same hand she had just had hold of, only this time he had put his black gloves back on.

Rogue looked up to him. She held his gaze and shrugged. "I know. I had your thoughts remember?"

Magneto genuingly looked upset and sorry though. Rogue thought that was because she had absorbed him twice and knew him pretty well by now. Rogue gave a light hearted smile. "Are we going to eat at some point?"

Magneto attempted to return the smile. "I believe so."

They ate in silence.

XXXXX

Rogue couldn't help herself and went over Magneto's recent thoughts in her head. She had watched him eat and was amused by it, but the thoughts kept pounding to be listened to. So Rogue gave in and listened to them. She wanted to blush when Magneto's thoughts took over, taking her to the moments when they had been alone and close and how he had liked it just as much as she.

The next thing that came to mind was all that Magneto wanted to know about her. He genuiningly wants to know what had happened to her and how such a sweet girl had lost that sweet innocent look. It made her sad, yet happy to think that someone seemed to genuinly care about her. But then there was the cons. He had suspisions and he wanted answers. He wanted to find out information from her which he could use against the X-Men. He wanted her to join him and become his left hand as Mystique was his right hand. She hated the thought of being used, but at the same time, she liked that he wanted her.

The next thing that came to mind was the recent mission he had sent Mystique on. He had sent her to find out information on who Dr Nathianal Essex was. After they had finished eating, Rogue had made a decision.

Rogue put her fork down and finished the food in her mouth. Magneto had finished his food before her and now held his cup in hand. "You've sent Mystique to do a back ground check on Sinister?" Rogue said picking up her coffee and sipping it.

Magneto raised his eyebrow. "I sent her to gather information about a man named Dr Nathianal Essex."

Rogue nodded hers. "You're wondering why I called him Sinister?"

Magneto put his cup down. "You know of him?"

"I know a bit about him, yes. Dr Nathianal Essex. The mad mutant scientist." And those four words was all it took for Magneto to become serious as he listened to Rogue. "To those who know truly know who and what he is, they call him Sinister. He's a scientist who likes to see how mutantions work and how mutants can control their powers. Where their powers come from. Why they have powers. Why they're a different colour skin. Anything and verything he wants to know about mutants. And he isn't afraid to get physical for his answers if you understand what I mean."

Magneto looked very disturbed. "Experimentation on mutants."

Rogue didn't meet his eyes. She was struggling to cope with her own emotions as it was. "Yes." Was all she could say.

"How do you know this? Has he..."

Rogue looked up to Magneto's eyes. He noticed that she had a hard emotionless look to her eyes. One filled with anger and hatered, but one that gave nothing else away. "No." She said. Magneto watched her carefully and wished he knew her better. But what he believed and felt were different to what she told him. Although, he had a feeling she was lieing to him for a reason. He decided to play her game and except what she said. "I absorbed someone who had though. They were lucky to get out alive."

Magneto sat forwards, business taking over his pleasent character which Rogue had gotten to know and like; a lot. Rogue saw him shift and she shifted too with attitude. She always did and always would if it was to do with Sinister. "Do you know where he's base is for experimenting on mutants."

Rogue's frowned deepened. "That's a tricky question to answer. Sinister is a very smart man with bases all over the country. Some empty, some in use. He likes to change bases every now and then so even if one of his bases were to be discovered there would be the chance that either the base will be empty and he will lose no mutants, but only the base, or he'll lose some mutants, but he'll still have more in the other bases. Another problem is that he is having bases built all over the place all the time and even having some of the old bases ripped down and houses built over them."

Magneto sat back in his chair, anger and rage clear on his face. Rogue felt his questions in his head and moved to answer them all. "You wanna guess where Sinister was getting all his fudings or should I just tell ya?"

Magneto looked back up to Rogue. "The president."

Rogue nodded her head. "You knew and you took it upon yourself to kill him because you couldn't take down the bases and didn't know which one to if you were to." Rogue nodded her head. "You couldn't have attacked them or stopped them, even if you could. Sinister must have had guards surrounding the camps. Cameras, traps. You couldn't help free the mutants trapped so you did the only other thing you thought would be of any use. You killed the president to stop Sinisters findings." Rogue nodded her head.

"Yes. Sinister had no where else to run. He was losing a lot of bases because the president had stopped paying for them and he was going to end up losing mutants. He'd have to chose to let them go or kill them off. Of course he'd have to go with killing them off, as he couldn't have anyone revealing what he was doing now could he. And from what I've ex-, erm, took from this person's memory they'd rather be dead then have to spend another night in one of those God aweful cells."

Magneto watched Rogue. Watched her slip up and her hands shake a little in anger as she gripped her cup. Noticing her shaking too Rogue put the cup down and pulled her hands in closer to her chest. The tell was still in her eyes though. Magneto reached over and took Rogue's hand in his. She looked to him and he saw the anger start to fade a little. She looked away again. "It was a mistake what I did... I shouldn't have killed the president."

"You did the right thing. The action anyone in their right mind would do in your position."

Rogue let out a sarcastic laugh. "Ha, yeah right. What would you have done if that was you Magneto? Would you have wasted time plotting to kill a man discretely? No, you would have gone straight ahead to the bases and destroyed each and every one of them; freeing every prisoner while you were at it. You have the power to."

"You said Sinister could just have more bases made. If you were to destory the bases, there would be more built and more mutants rounded up and put in them. You helped prevent-"

"But I haven't prevented anything have I?" Rogue yelled in anger. She turned that anger on Magneto as she rose from her chair. "Sinister is going to be elected president. And then your worst fear is going to come true. World War 3 is coming as soon as Sinister takes control. The last president might have been bad, but he's nothing compared to Sinister. They say Hitler was the devil. They were wrong. It doesn't compare anywhere near to Sinster."

Rogue turned her back on Magneto and went to storm out of the room. Before fully leaving though, Rogue turned back around and said, "Call Mystqiue off! You have the information you need, call her off now before she becomes another test subject." And Rogue left Magneto's office, slamming his door behind her.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

Rogue had ran out of Magneto's room, out of his base and into the forest where she hurt herself punching trees and kicking them too. She needed to get rid of her rage some how though and it was the only thing she had without having eyes on her. Finally, when Rogue had tired herself out, she found herself sat by the river. Rogue breathed in deeply, then breathed out a sigh. The river was cool and calming. Nice and relaxing. Only, the strange thing was she felt like she'd been where she sat before. The sencery seemed familiar. Rogue looked around, then finally looked behind her and there she saw it. Magneto's large window and at his desk she saw Magneto. He was on the phone and Rogue read his body language as mad and outraged. Rogue knew that telling Magneto about the bases could ether go one of two ways. One, he could out the bases and anounce war, making all the world suffer, but he'd still be able to help the mutants that had been captured, or two, he might be able to get all the prisoners out and take down Sinister without a war. Rogue could only hope for the laterer. Rogue turned back to the river and tried to relax listening to the sound of gentle running water.

And then she heard it. A voice calling out to her. At first she thought it was the voices in her head. They had gotten free when she was taking her anger out on the trees, but she was sure ever since she had got to the river that she had got them under control. Then she heard it again in the distance. It was Pyro.

"Rogue." He was yelling. Rogue turned to see him. He was screaming out her name, looking for her.

Rogue didn't want to face anyone at the moment, got up and started to move down stream. Rogue looked once again to Magneto's window and caught the eyes of the now serious grey eyes. They shocked her for a moment. Kept her in place. She thought his eyes were blue. Blue when he was at ease. And grey when he was an emotionless monster. Rogue hated that look in his eye. She understood the rage he had, but it still scared her and hurt her to think that he had to go back to being that hard headed war planing machine after everything he's been through; still having a life of fighting and hiding just to stay alive with no happiness giving him reason to live, except the dream that his people will be free.

Rogue turned her head and continued walking far away from Pyro. Rogue had been walking for some time now, just following the river. It was starting to get dark and late and she was thinking of heading back.

"Well, well, well." Rogue froze. "Lookie what we have here." Rogue looked up to the sky and saw a woman stood on a tree branch looking down at her. Rogue knew the woman. She went by the name of Vertigo and her mutant powers did exactly that. Rogue felt the adrenaline rush into her veins and she was prepared to run, until she heard the crake of a branch from behind her. Rogue looked all around her. She was surround. To her left were two men. A man with long wavey white hair called Ruckus and the big bulky man next to him was named Georgious George. Behind her was a tall purple man known as Slab and to her right was another man known as Hairbag; a very hairy man who could be mistaken for a gorilla.

Rogue painiced. She looked around for any escape hole she could find, only she couldn't see any without having to go through a fight. Rogue looked around her and tried to think what the best course of action would be, It would be eaier to get past Hairbag, but then she knew Vertigo, Ruckus or Slab would stop her. She needed to go for one of them and try to get passed them. Rogue decided that, seeing as there was a straight clear pathway underneath her, to run forwards and underneath Vertigo. Rogue don't get far though before she was bombarded by the feeling of Vertigo and Ruckus' screams. Rogue feel to her knees screaming in pain. Pain for her bleeding ears and dizziness. The Vertigo was also making her voices in her head act up too, which was even more painful as past memories burst into her head. Rogue was in agnony.

Slab scooped her up and the ear ache and Vertigo stopped, but Rogue was still daze and captured. No, she couldn't be. Not again. Rogue began kicking and struggling as much as she could.

"Awww." Said Gorgous George as he came closer. All of them came closer. "That was easy."

"Yes it was. She didn't even put up much of a fight." Said Ruckus.

"But don't forgot we took her by suprize." Said Vertigo.

"We've took her by suprize before and she's still managed to get away." Said Ruckus.

"Stop doubting us Ruckus. We got her first time. Easy work. Easy money. No complaining. Let's go give her to Sinister." Said Hairbag.

"Oiy." Rogue stirred and opened her eyes to see Pyro not far off from them. "I'm only gonna tell you all once. Put her down and no one gets hurt."

There were some sniggers of laughter.

"I think we'll take our chances little boy." Said Vertigo.

Rogue watched as a devilish grin appeared on Pyro's face. Rogue began to panic and wished she could duck down. She knew exactly what Pyro was going to do. "Suit yourself."

And just like Rogue knew it was coming it happened. Pyro used the new improved lighter which was always in his hand and ready for use which Magneto had built him to throw fire at all of them, bending the fire so it missed Rogue as it hit Slab, and knocking them all back. Rogue went back with them, but felt Slabs grip loosen. Rogue made to roll out of his grip and crawl away. Pyro aimed his fire up to the sky and let it go as far up as he could. While he was focusing on getting his fire up in the air though, the Nasty Boys (as they were called) started to get up. Rogue spring to her feet, still feeling dizzy, but she made her way over to Pyro.

There were yells like "Stupid boy." Aimed at Pyro and he was suddenly being attacked by Vertigo and Ruckus. Rogue wanted to help him though she came to have her own problems. Hairbag and Gorgous Geoge had surrounded her. Hairbag attacked her first. Rogue thought back to her training with Mystique. Smoothly and quickly, just as Mystique had forced into her, Rogue dodged his punch with one movement and then intercepted him, going for his most vunerable week point. Hairbag was down on his knees choking from the low blow. As Rogue stood up, she felt a hand on her arm trying to restrain her. Rogue was quick in reacting though and just as she had been taught by Mystique, got out of the guy's hold and turned it around on him. Rogue then went to kick the back of his knees so Gorgous George fell down to the floor and before he could even reach behind him, Rogue knocked him down with a swinging kick to the head. That would keep those two down for a while, now she had to help Pyro.

As Rogue turned and began moving to where she had last seen Pyro, she was intercepted and a large hand wrapped around her waist again. She was lifted up into the air. Rogue tried to fight Slab, but it was hard. Unlike Gorgous George when he had held her, she couldn't kick or twist her way out of this. Rogue only seen one way. Rogue headbutted Slabbed hand and absorbed him. She felt Slab go weak and drop her.

Rogue was about to push out of his grip and make a run towards where she'd last seen Pyro when she felt increably dizzy. Rogue fell to her knees. Not again. Vertigo had stopped her from getting any further. The voices in Rogue's head screamed at her as she went down. Rogue couldn't even make out which way was down or up.

Something clicked around and a cool ring around her neck made her shiver. The vertigo lifted and Rogue was lifted up too. Slab had regained himself and now held Pyro and Rogue captive in either hand. Rogue looked around her, still dizzy and in pain by the voices, but she saw Pyro's limp body being held captive and saw the other Nasty Boy members gathering around them. Rogue closed her eyes and hung her head. The pain was too much.

"You satisfied now Gorgous?" Asked Ruckus.

Gorgous George growled at Ruckus. "Let's just go before anyone else decides to slow us down." Said Slab.

"I'm afraid you won't be going anywhere. Especially, not with my people." Rogue opened her eyes. She felt the world spin and her vision wasn't straight, but she looked around until she found the owner of the voice. Magneto. He was here. He was going to help them. And he had back up. Rogue noticed that behind him was the whole army of Brotherhood followers who were willing to fight to get them back.

"Sorry Magneto, but I'm afraid we will be leaving and we'll be taking your precious little Roguey with us. And your firebug too." Rogue's chin was gripped harshly by Vertigo and Rogue was forced to look at Vertigo, instead of Magneto."You see there's someone who's just dieing to see little Roguey here again," Vertigo smiled as she saw the flicker of fear in Rogue's eyes just like she wanted to see. She let go of her chin and continued talking to Magneto."and we have orders to make that happen. Now, we don't mind giving back your little firebug here, but the Rogue comes with us." Vertigo stroked Rogue's check with her gloved hand. Rogue tried moving away from Vertigo's tormenting touch, but she couldn't get too far.

Magneto's fist tightened. "There is no negotiating this! Either you will leave Rogue and Pyro with us and you may walk away with your lifes, or you die."

"Why do you care so much for one little girl Magneto?" Asked Ruckus. "She isn't apart of your Brotherhood, yet you're risking the life of someone who is apart of your cult to suffer for her. Don't you feel betreyed by that." Said Ruckus to Pyro, who had now come to. "Don't you feel betreyed by all the time and effort you've put in to support Magneto, and he's willing to risk you'ree life simply over a little girl who's only just recently come into his life? Don't you think you should question him and his priorities? " Ruckus turned to face all of Magneto's other followers. "Don't you all think you should question your leader?"

There was a quiet thinking silence. Rogue felt guilty and that this was all her fault. Ruckus' twisting ways were good and talented and Rogue knew from experience of having seen the effects of Ruckus' big mouth what'll happen. Rogue scarsly looked up to see what was happening, and to her suprize, Magneto looked unfazed. She saw some others around him question what Ruckus was saying, but others just stood still and unphazed, like Domino.

"If my followers believe that I am not worth following then they shall not follow me. But those who do believe in me as being their leader and whom back me will know that I will fight for them and will fight for our goal which is the freedom of all mutants. You may make my people question my leadership, but what all of them can see is that you intend to abuse your own kind. Strap us down to tables, cut us open and experiment on us. You have turned against your own kind and are just as bad as those who appose mutants. It does not matter how long or how little I have known the mutants you hold captive. The same fate will be perturbed on any mutant you capture. I made a vow to make this world a better place for mutants." Magneto lifted himself into the air. "And to do that I shall protect all mutants under my care. I will protect them from the violence and evils of the world and I shall protect them from you."

Metal spheres came from all around the forest. Rogue was unsure where the metal could even come from in the forest, but as long as she didn't have to go back with the Nasty Boys and was saved, she didn't care. Vertigo and Ruckus, put up a good defence and tried knocking Magneto out of the sky, but he protected himself with a magnetic force field and finally killed all of the Nasty Boys.

Pyro and Rogue were dropped to the ground. Slowly they both got up onto their knees then onto their feet. Rogue looked over to Pyro who looked back at her.

"You alright?" He asked.

Rogue nodded her head. "Yeah. You?"

"Yeah, I'm good." Said Pyro. Boom-boom came by Pyro's side, giving Rogue evil looks as she linked her arm with his and began leading him away.

"Oh Pyro." Rogue said, making Pyro stop walking away with Boom-boom and turn to look at her. "Thanks."

Pyro nodded his head then let Boom-boom pull him along. They followed behind the Brotherhood members who were all leaving to go back to camp. Rogue looked to her side and saw Domino was besides her. "You OK?" She asked.

"Yeah, I'm good. Just a little shaken up, that'll all." Rogue turned around to look back at the Nasty Boys. They all lay close together with their blood merging with each others and sinking into the ground. Rogue knew it was selfish what she was thinking, but just like when she killed the president, she was glad they were all dead. At least now they could never try to capture her again and take her, or any other poor innocent mutant. But seeing them here and willing to take her back again just made her think of the one man behind it. Sinister. He was still after her and he wasn't going to give up. If he hadn't given up after all this time, then he'd never give up. He was going to keep sending people after her to try and capture her and Rogue thought she might not always have the Brotherhood around to save her. Another question which puzzled her was how did they know where she was? It made her worry about all the other lives she had put in danger. Rogue began forming a plan in her head, and, as always, she was hating what she had to do.

"What's that?" Domino questioned. Rogue's attention was brought back to Domino who was pointing to the ring around her neck. Rogue reached up and touched it. As Rogue ran her gloved fingers around it, Domino watched her eyes expand and shock rise in her eyes. "Magneto." She called.

Magneto who had been watching everyone from up in the air where he hovered looked down towards Domino. She looked up to him, then indicated to Rogue with her head. Magneto flew down towards them. Rogue looked to be in a daze. Her eyes were wide and full of shock as she looked down at the Nasty Boy's bloody bodies. He saw that she was gently rubbing the band around her neck. "What is that?"

Rogue looked up to Magneto, brought out of her daze. Rogue wan't sure what to think of Magneto again. She had been getting over the fact that he had tried to kill her. She'd just accepted that he thought he was doing right and that he really didn't want to kill her, but he had to. She knew how that felt and although she'd never forgiven or forgotten it, she just learned to move on and live with it. Rogue didn't have a problem with him killing the Nasty Boy's at all either. But now she had to question wheather she should open up to him and tell him everything or leave. It was a hard choice, to open up to the man who had saved her from a life of hell or to push him away and not let him in. Which was the better course of action?

"I don't know. Do you know what it is Rogue?" Domino asked.

Rogue looked at Domino, then back at Magneto and then away from them again and at the Nasty Boys. She couldn't help but look at them. She had to look at them. Had to look at their dead corpse. Memories were coming back to her. Horrible horrible memories, involving them and she needed to know those memories weren't likely to repeat themselves ever again. She had to be sure that the Nasty Boys were dead and the only way to do that was to look at their bloodly bodies. Rogue zoomed out from having to answer that question about the collar. The collar brought back other memories too. Memories she didn't want to think about, but was being forced to think about. By looking at the Nasty Boys though, they brought up other nasty memories, one's which were easier to bury though as they were dead.

"Come Rogue." Rogue felt a strong hand on her shoulder. A familiar firm palm. The weight of it on her shoulder seemed heavier than it was, but that weight made her feel like she was sinking into a nice warm bubble bath. It was comforting and warm. A warmer and nicer thought away from the bloody memories. Rogue, although she didn't realise she was doing it, started to fall back a little as if she really was sinking into that bath. A firm strong body was behind her and stopped her from falling, but he was warm and comforting, just like the warm water. It was firm and made things more real. Made the peace more real. Rogue closed her eyes, and althought she didn't know that she was passing out, she felt like she was being embrassed by a nice warm bubble bath as she was lifted off her feet and the warm water wrapped all around her body.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

Rogue woke up in soft satin bed sheets. They were cool as she turned her head and refreshing. Rogue could sense a gentle morning light too as she started to awaken. It wasn't strong, but it was up lifting. She knew she couldn't be in her dark little cell with this soft light. Rogue wanted to know where this delightful light was coming from and slowly opened her eyes.

Rogue woke up to be in a creamy room. There were large windows that let in the light from the forest and she was in a queen sized bed. Rogue looked around, seeing that there were actually good furnishings around. There was a white sofa besides a fireplace and a bookshelve and wardrobes.

"Good morning." Rogue turned her head to the door to hear where that smooth deep voice came from. Magneto was stood in the door way looking at her as she slept.

"Morning." Rogue said sitting up and stretching. "Where am I?" Rogue asked, relooking around the room for clues.

"I had you moved to my room so I could keep an eye on you?" Rogue felt her calm relaxed mood dropped to an embarrised suprized one. Shyly she looked back at Magneto who was smiling light heartedly at her hand-in-the-cookie-jar face.

A thought came to Rogue's mind. "Why?" Rogue asked.

Magneto's smile dropped. "You fainted. There was no physical damage done to you; it was unnatural for you to pass out."

"Oh." Rogue said. She looked away from Magneto, feeling a little unsure of what to do, she got out of the bed and started making it.

"You don't have to make up the bed."

"It's fine." Rogue said. After having made the bed, Rogue stared at it. There was a silence where both just stared at the bed. Then Rogue started to blush.

"Is there something you would like to tell me Rogue?" Rogue went pale.

"Like what?" She asked.

"Those Nasty Boys, they went to a lot of trouble tracking down our base and waiting till you were on your own and further away from the base. Who is this man who wants you Rogue?"

Rogue throwned and looked back to the bed. "Oh come on Magneto. Even you could work that one out." Rogue snapped.

"I know and I already had. From the moment you told me, I knew. I just want you to say it. Want you to tell me." Rogue closed her eyes, tightly.

"Rogue." Magneto said gently, walking towards her. Rogue put her head down as if shamed. She still kept her eyes shut tight. "Rogue." Magneto said again, this time reaching out for her arms to turn her around. Rogue had wondered how she had gotten into wearing a long sleeved t-shirt, long enough to be a dress, but never questioned it. She could feel the heat of Magneto's body close against her own.

After a final deep breath in, Rogue opened her eyes and looked up to him. He saw her eyes sparkled with tears. "Yeah. I was the person who got captured. I'm the one who got experimented on by Sinister. Are you happy now?" Rogue demanded.

A tear slid from her eye and slowly down her check, Magneto moved his hands up to cup both of her checks and wiped the tear away. "That you have finally told me the truth about your past, yes. That you had to live through that man's torture and live knowing he is still alive, absolutly not. I promise you Rogue, if it's the last thing I do, I will take down Sinister and everything he stands for. He will not harm you ever again!"

That touched Rogue's heart more than he could possibly know. But she shuck her head. "Logan... The Wolverine" She corrected herself. "Once told me the same thing. That he'd be by my side and protect me no matter what. But he broke that promise. How do I know you won't too."

"Because," Magneto said, lifting her head again to look at him and holding it tighter. Not so tight that it would hurt, but enough to get her attention. "Rogue, we both know what it feels like to have to live through one of those camps. We both want those camps destroyed and the mutants inside freed. We both strive for the same thing, just as all the rest of the Brotherhood do. We all become one and we all take care of each other so we can deal with our problems."

"But what if you forget about me too?" Rogue said as another two tears fell down her checks.

"I have protection from him Rogue. This very room we stand in blocks him from our thoughts. I will wear my helmet whenever I leave and I will allow no opportunities for him to enter and alter my mind. I won't forget you Rogue. I'll always come and get you when you need me. If..." Rogue heart sunk. There was always a price to pay. Why didn't she learn this by now. "Only if you stay with me. Stay with the Brotherhood. Become apart of our family. Apart of our goal. Help us take down Sinister and his camps. Will you Rogue, side with the Brotherhood?"

Rogue was still for a moment, she knew he was doing it again. Using his mind games and persuading her through speech. She could try to fight it. She should know that he wasn't telling the truth. And she did. She knew all of these things, yet she still wanted to say yes. Why did she want to put herself in such a set up position for pain? She didn't know and at that moment she didn't care. She thought that she'd deal with the pain of betreyal later, but for now, she was his. "Yes." Her yes was a silent gasp of the word, but he heard it none the less.

They were so close together. Their lips inches apart. A thought came to Rogue's mind, one that didn't seem to be her own, but one which persuaded her with his thoughts. Rogue closed the gap and her eyes, reaching up on her tip toes and kissed Magneto on the lips. Magneto closed his eyes and enjoyed the fell of her soft lips rubbing against his. And then it was gone. He opened his eyes to Rogue's now open ones. Nothing had happened. Magneto hadn't been effected by Rogue's power. He could see Rogue getting smaller and smaller and felt her letting go of him. He didn't want her to go, so gripped her tightly and pulled her forwards, carefully making sure his lips landed on hers. At first it was just gentle stroking of the lips, and then they both began sucking the others lips, and soon their tongues meet in a deep passionate kiss. Rogue had lifted her arms up out of Magneto's grip and wrapped them around his neck. Magneto had dropped his hands to Rogue's waist, pulling her closer to him and lifting her hips up slightly. The feeling felt so good and everything else was simply forgotten about.

Until the phone rang. Magneto broke away first, placing his head against Rogue's. He didn't want to move away and wanted to kiss her again, but business called. He opened his eyes to view Rogue. "I need to answer that."

Rogue looked sightly annoid and upset, but slid her arms off his shoulders and nodded her head. Magneto slowly dropped her and let her go, then moved into the next room where he answered the phone.

Rogue looked around awkwardly, not sure what to do with herself now. Or how to act, or feel, or think. Rogue seemed to have lose her mind while she had been kissing Magneto. Rogue didn't know if she was ready to face Magneto or not yet, but she felt like a lost puppy without him. She moved to the door and watched Magneto in his office on the phone. She read his body language that leaned against his desk. From what Rogue could gather, something bad had happened. Gravelly, he put down the phone and rubbed his hand over his face.

"Magneto? What's wrong?" She asked quietly from where she stood.

Magneto turned to look at her out of the corner of his eye. Rogue saw his true emotion come through and saw that he was miserable and upset.

"Mystique... " He looked back down to the desk, needing both hands to support him now. "Your warning came just a little too late. I was too late to stop her... She's gone Rogue."

"Gone?" Rogue echoed.

Magneto nodded his head. Rogue felt the horrible truth drawn upon her. Although she hadn't known Mystique very long, she had still been her friend and like a mother figure to her. Taking care of her, teaching her and although she didn't know it, giving Rogue hope. Rogue felt as if she had just lost a life long friend. Both Magneto and Rogue felt that way. They stood in silence, mourning Mystique's death. "Couldn't... Are you sure?" Rogue asked Magneto through a broken voice.

He shuck his head, then rubbed harshly at his eyes. Rogue knew he was rubbing harshly at his eyes to stop the tears, but he still felt for his lost friend. His ex-lover. Rogue couldn't bare looking at Magneto anymore. It hurt too much. Mystique's mind and memories came to her as she had looked at him. As she did think of him.

"We both knew this would happen Erik. One day, we'd all die. We'd both die. But we'd die for a cause. A cause worth dieing for."

Magneto looked to Rogue, bewildered. He straightened up as he started to piece things together. "Rogue, did you absorb Mystique?"

Rogue stilled didn't meet his eyes. She was deep in her mind, facing Mystique's persona in her head. Rogue nodded her head. Rogue blinked hard then reopened her eyes, this time looking at Magneto. "I didn't want her to die..." Rogue looked away from Magneto again, not being able to look him in the eye. "I was only just getting to know her... She was starting to become my friend." Rogue couldn't help the tear that fell from her eye. "It fells like we have been friends for years... How did she die?" Rogue asked looking back up at Magneto.

Magneto looked down to the ground. "She had broke into Sinister's office, only they were waiting for her. Mystique put up a good fight, but in the end they'd beaten her too much. Mystique took the last bullet to the head rather than go through the torture they would put her through."

Rogue closed her eyes tightly and looked away from Magneto. "That's what I would have done. That's what I would have done if I had gotten the chance." Another tear escaped Rogue's eye.

Magneto walked over to Rogue and enwrapped her in a hug. Rogue opened up to Magneto and wept in his arms. Magneto in return squeezed Rogue tightly. So tight that she found it hard to breath. But she knew pain was his way of coping. Pain and anger. If she was right then after this he would throw stuff and break stuff, or kill people and give out commands. He would turn all his upset into anger and revenge and he would make sure that a plan was set. Rogue could deal with the pain, which was why she let him squeeze her so tight.

Soon Rogue stopped weeping and Magneto loosened his grip. He held her, resting his head on top of hers and she placed her head on his chest, listening to his heart. "We're gonna have to move camps, aren't we?"

"Yes." Said Magneto, gravelly.

"I think we should build a statue of Mystique here before we go. In honour of her memory. She deserves a least that."

Magneto pulled back from Rogue and looked her in the eye. "I believe that would be a very good idea."

Rogue nodded her head at Magneto's now even tone. She could feel him rebuilding himself and soon he would become very angry.

Rogue let him go and he stood tall. "Is there somewhere or something I should be doing now?" Rogue asked.

Magneto stuided her and then his eyes moved down to the collar around her neck. He reached up his hand to touch it. "The collar; do you know anything about it?"

Rogue attempted to look down at it, but couldn't see it. She raised her bare hand to the collar and ran her fingers across the familiar cold ring. Rogue's face fell. "Yeah. It's a power neglecter collar. It stops mutant's powers so it's easier for Sinister to contain his mutant prisoners."

Magneto placed his fingers under her chin, and raised her head to look at him. "You are no longer a prisoner of his. And never shall be again. Remember that Rogue." His eyes were firest and looked full of truth. Rogue nodded her head. "How do we remove it?"

He saw the look of hopelessness on Rogue's face. "You haven't tried getting it off?"

"I wanted to, but our technician, Forge told me not to. He didn't like the red light on the collar and wants you to be awake when he attempts to take it off." Rogue nodded her head and looked down to the floor. "What is it Rogue?" Magneto questioned.

Rogue looked up to Magneto and said, "The thing about the collars is... Sinister usually plates some kind of shocking device in them..." Rogue looked away from Magneto, a distancing look in her eye. "He used to shock us from time to time when we needed... Disciplining."

Again Magneto moved Rogue's chin to look up at him. "You are not there Rogue. The collar will come off very soon and then it'll be gone. You won't ever have to see it again." Rogue nodded her head.

But Magneto still didn't seem convinced. He moved his head down to peck at Rogue's lips. "You are not there Rogue, because you are here with me. And I don't much like to share."

Rogue's smile grew. "Old traditioned guy, huh? You know," Rogue said, wrapping her arms around Magneto's neck. "That's a rare and unique quality most guys now-a-days don't have." Rogue pouted. "Such a shame."

Magneto chuckled. "Indeed. Now, we must get you down to Forge's lab and see if he can have this removed from your neck."

Rogue nodded, moving her arms off from around Magneto's shoulders. Her arms dropped to her side and again, she wasn't sure what to do without Magneto guiding her. Magneto did as she pleaded him to in her head and took her hand. He kept hold of her hand all the way to Forge's lab.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

Magneto never let go of Rogue's hand, not even when she pulled away as mutants walked down the corridor (though he did stir her close to his side so their bodies were almost touching and their hands were barely noticeable). He held her hand and led her all the way, down stairs she'd never knew where there and down to Forge's base. It was kinda nice, Rogue thought. And she enjoyed it. She wondered if him refusing to let her go was a sign of their relationship status. Were they a couple? Did she want to be in a relationship with Magneto? Even be in one at all? Was this even right? Wasn't she too young and he too old?

Rogue questioned herself and them, until they walked into a white room with a surgical bed in the middle of the room and large computers surrounding it. Rogue froze where she stood at the door, halting Magneto to a stop too. He looked back at her and had saw her eyes had grown wide with fear and horror. He understood instantly it was too soon to see such equipment.

"Magneto?" Came a voice from behind the computers. Forge came out, smiling idioticly at them as he walked over. "So, she ready for me to try and get it off? I've got to say, I can't wait to have a look at the little tinker."

"Rogue." Magneto said, taking her by both her arms and shaking her.

"Is she OK?" Forge asked.

"No." Magneto looked around the room, then began pushing Rogue out of it. They moved into the waiting room outside and Magneto sat her down in one of the chairs. "Rogue?" He questioned.

Rogue was still in a daze, but keeping hold of Magneto's hand and squeezing it helped bring herself back. She looked up to Magneto who stood over her and gave a small smile, though it wasn't a happy smile. It was to show him she was alright.

Magneto turned to face Forge after seeing Rogue was alright. "Forge, will you be able to take it off here?"

Forge nodded his head, started mubbling about some strangely named equipment and then ran off back into the lab.

"Now that he's gone, are you truly alright?"

Rogue took in a deep breath then let it out, "Yeah, just a little shaken up is all. I'm fine." She said attempting to smile up at Magneto again.

Magneto frowned down at her. "My dear, God forbid you should ever have to try and lie to me. You, out of all people know me better than anyone, possibly even myself. I too, out of all people, understand you better than anyone could. I've already explained this. We have the same goals and the same morals. We are not enemies. You do not need to fight or hide yourself from me. Please do not try."

Rogue took in every word he said, then nodded her head. "Your right." Rogue looked down to her hands. "I'm not alright... Seeing them again... Having them try to capture me again... It just brings back all the bad memories. I managed to fight them off sometimes when I was on my own and get away. But... they finally caught me."

"And delivered you to Sinister." Rogue nodded."I understand your pain and that the wounds are still fresh. But sometime soon, when your ready, you'll need to open up to me Ro-"

"No! I don't need to revisit those memories! You don't need to know what happened to me!" Rogue stood up with a first look in her eyes as she faced off against Magneto. "All you need to focus on is stopping Sinister from becoming president of the United States, destroy all his labs and then, once he'll watched his growing empire crumble, kill him. Slowly and painfully."

Magneto looked deep into those firery red eyes. Those eyes were the same he saw when Rogue had killed the president. And the look in those eyes were the uncontrolable rage that was taking over her and her vision. He remembered that rage well and remembered how it almost destroyed him. How dangerous that emotion could be. Magneto stood tall and unmoved. He knew he had to becareful where he stepped with Rogue. Although she wasn't a threat right now, he knew she could be. He was going to need to guide her out of that anger just as Charles had done for him before she self destructed.

"We will take Sinister down Rogue." Magneto said, placing his hands on her shoulders. "But for now, you need to recover-"

"I don't need to recover!-"

"You're in shock! You're weak! And your anger has taken control of you!" Magneto said, rising above Rogue's voice in his demanding voice.

"That is not true!" Rogue stressed, stepping forward so she was closer to him. "I'm thinkin' more clearly than you! Your the one who always thinks destroying things and 'making-a-statement' showing that you destroyed them is the right way to go about things. 'Cause ya think humans will be scared of ya. News flash, they're not scared of us even if they should be. By just showing off and making them hate us, your just creating another obstacle and leading things to a war more quickly, insteada taking the slow hard way and just waiting for them to come around. Yeah, some people are always gonna be racist against mutants and lock us up, and treat us like animals, and experiment on us. But that's where the Brotherhood and X-Men come in and we gotta stop them so no more mutants get hurt. That's why my plan'll work, but you, what have you actually done that's been successful, huh? What-"

Magneto became harsh with Rogue as his anger flared. Rogue was shoved hard against the wall, pinned by her throat. She still held that anger in her eyes that matched Magneto's. "Do not push your luck with me, Rogue! I know the mistakes I've made in the past has effected our future, but from those mistakes I have grown stronger. Mutants have grown stronger. Stronger and more willing to fight for their rights of life. If I hadn't have made those mistakes, made those failures, than the mutants outside that follow me would not be here. Most of them would be dead. I did what I had to that I thought were right at the time and if I was given the chance to go back in time and correct my failures, I would still make all the same mistakes and all the same failures as it takes all those falls until you can reach victory. And my people will come out victorious when all is said and done. You will understand that all the things I've done have been necessary so we can have a future."

After a moment passed and he realised that Rogue was struggling to breath, he released her. Both had calmed down from that point dramatically and both huffed. Magneto felt as if he needed to say something, but he would not apologize. He would make her see she was wrong to question his actions. "You-"

"You should go!" Rogue cut in faster and louder. "You should go. Go give orders for everyone to move out. Sinister knows where your base is. He's not gonna pass up such a golden opportunity."

"I've already given them orders-"

"Then go help them. What, you think I need you here to hold my hand while this power neglecter gets cut off me from around my neck? Just go. They need you more than I do."

They were harsh words, but they were true and from Rogue's refusal to look at him, he left.

Rogue bathed in the silence for a moment as she got the voices in her dead under control and focused on her breathing. She was hurt by how Magneto had attacked her, but she hadn't been scared. She understood better where he was coming from when the other him explained it all in a gentler way inside her head, but she still wouldn't change what she'd said.

"Oh. You alright?" Rogue looked up to Forge who was coming back into the room with a bag of tools.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Lets just get this over with."

XXXXX

Magneto stood on the hill, watching as his Brotherhood began moving out. So flew away, some teleported, others walked or ran. Either way they were moving quickly and the memorial statue of Mystique, he had built and put up quickly. Now the camp was half empty and half of the mutants would already be setting up their things in Magneto's New York hide out. Magneto watched them all, focusing more on what his group leaders were doing to organise things. Then his eyes shifted to Forge who had come out of the base. Magneto awaited for Forge to come to him.

"Is it off?"

"Well, erm, you see, there were, erm, Rogue erm," Magneto glared at Forge, irritated by his stammering.

"Forge." Magneto warned.

"No, I, erm, I couldn't get it off." Magneto let go of a stressful snort and looked back to his people. That was just what he was fearing. Forge continued to mubble on; a few words caught Magneto's attention. "When I did try cutting it off, I set something off and it shocked Rogue."

"An electric current?" Magneto asked.

"Yeah, throughout her whole body. It looked painful and she did scream in pain a little, but she seemed as if she was waiting for it. Ready for it. In the end, I couldn't cut throw the band without pulling or tripping one of the wires inside. Rogue explained that this Sinister guy is quiet the genius and he would have invented it so it couldn't be removed. If what I think is right, which I think it is, there are wires within the collar that are attached to the metal surface of the collar and if it gets cut or even if you try easing it apart with your powers, it'll either shock Rogue, only with more strength or it might even blow up."

Magneto found himself cursing Sinister and getting annoyed that once again this madman had found a way to get to Rogue and trap her, only this time the madman had gotten thrown his protection. Magneto felt as if Sinister was mocking him and insulting him by attacking Rogue and trapping her right in front of him. He didn't want this madman to have anything over him, especially not hurting the people he cared for. He'd already lost Mystique to Sinister, he wasn't about to lose Rogue too.

"Where is she?" Magneto asked.

"Oh, she's gone back to her room I think to pack her stuff. She should have been out by now though, I think."

Not having Rogue in his sights made Magneto uneasy. Yes, they may have just had an argument, but that didn't mean he would break his promise to her which he only made a few hours ago that he'd be there for her. Magneto flew over to the entrance to the base and entered it.

He walked the hallways until he came to Rogue's room. He knocked three times, then opened the door. There was no one inside. Magneto frowned as he saw that her draws had been cleared, but he hadn't seen her outside. Magneto turned and went to the closest exit. He looked all around for her, then flew up high, not being able to see her around the base. Finally he lowered down to stand next to Pyro.

"Pyro, has one of the teleporters taken Rogue?"

"Not that I know of, no." Said Pyro. Magneto's frowned deepened. "Why? What's happened now? Is she lost again?"

Magneto looked out and around the base. "No, I do not believe she is lost. I believe she has run from us. I want her found Pyro." Pyro nodded and created a team to search for Rogue in the forest.

XXXXX

Several hours later and there had been no trace of the Rogue.

"It's like she's just vanished into thin air. You don't think some other guys like the Nasty Boys came and caught her, do you?" Asked Pyro as he came to stand beside Magneto.

"No Pyro. Rogue was not prepared for that attack and let her guard down knowing we were just around the corner and believing that no one would be crazy enough to try and attack us anyway. This time, I think she knows to be aware and left alone."

"Right, but one thing I don't get is why would she run away?" Asked Pyro.

Magneto believed he knew the answer to that question, only he didn't like it. He turned on his heel and moved back to the last teleporter. "We will have to leave her behind. We've searched all over and could not find her. If she's ran away by choice then there's nothing more we can do."

Pyro was confused by Magneto's new dismissal of Rogue's absence. But he knew better than to argue or ask questions. And with that the teleporter teleported them all away.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

Magneto knew that he'd be reunited with Rogue some time soon as both planned to kill Sinister. Magneto was planning to kill Sinister publicily and show the world Sinister's true colours where Rogue was planning to capture and torture Sinister before killing him discreatly.

The X-Men were readying themselves to free another of Sinister's bases. Magneto's spies had informed him of the same base. He had Pyro led the attack on the base. And he ran into Wolverine and the X-Men.

He laughed as he came face to face with Wolverine, Iceman and Storm. "Shoulda guessed you'd be here." Pyro said.

"You! What are you doing here?" Iceman yelled in outrage.

"Same reason your here. To break out the prisoners. Oh, how's the ex, Iceman?" Pyro teased. He was annoied that Rogue had just uped and ran away. He was anoied that she just abandoned the Brotherhood and, after his big speech about keeping her close and keeping her safe, he was annoyed at Magneto as he'd simply let her go and walked away as if he didn't even care. Pyro was irritated that Rogue had walked out of his life with these supposed missing memories and he focused his blamed on the X-Men. He'd seen Rogue and knew she was a mess. It was there fault that she'd turned out that way. It made sense to blame them, Pyro thought.

Iceman looked confused. "Ex?"

Pyro frowned. He'd forgot the X-Men didn't know about her. Well, he thought he'd enlighten them. "Rogue. The girl you used to date before your Professor X wiped out everyone's memories of her. Then the girl you all attacked when she tried to make you all see sence."

"Rogue?" Iceman questioned, dumbfoundly.

"What you talkin' 'bout kid? You lost your damn mind or what? That girls' trouble whereever she goes. Attacked us all, stole our memories and powers. She ain't right in the head?" Grunted Wolverine.

Pyro raised his eyebrow to this. He hadn't heard that Rogue had attacked them. Just that they had kicked her out and attacked her when she tried going back. Something wasn't right here. He knew something was off about Rogue. He realised that Rogue had lied to him, but why and what about? Pyro felt his blood heaten at his rage at Rogue. After this, he was going to make it his personal mission to track her down and find out what the hell was going on with that girl and their past. But for now, he wasn't going to let the X-Men win this war of worlds.

"Maybe she was angry you all turned your backs on her after promising to be there for her. I would really question your Professor if I was you. The man can't be trusted."

"And Magneto can?" Said Storm.

"Hey, at least you know what you're getting with him. Nice guys, you never know when they're gonna do something nasty." An explotion filled the gap between the X-Men and Pyro made his get away at this point. He ran to meet up with the other Brotherhood members who were loading prisoners on the jet they brought. He helped get half of the prisoners the Brotherhood had saved onto the jet and then strapped himself in as they took off. He was seriously going to be having words with Magneto when he got back.

XXXXX

Magneto was in the middle of planning his assassination when the doors burst open.

"Magneto, we need to talk." Pyro demanded.

Magneto's fists clenched in anger. "Your personal problems can wait till another time Pyro."

Pyro slammed his fist down on the metal desk. "No! They need to be sorted now. You let Rogue go!"

Magneto looked up, anger barely being contained in his eyes. "Why? Why did you let her go so easily? Something must have happened between you two. You were always watching her. Always seemed to be with her or in her shadow even if she didn't notice. So spit it out Magneto! What aren't you telling me? You know something about Rogue or something she knows and that something has to do with me supposably forgetting my past. I deserve an explanation Magneto!"

"With that attitude, you deserve nothing!" Magneto said coldy.

"I swear Magneto, don't mess with me on-" Pyro's legs were sweeped out from under him as a metal chair took him from behind and the metal began twisting till Pyro's wrists and ankles were bound. Magneto looked down at Pyro with maddening eyes.

"You do not come in here demanding explanations from me Pyro. I decided whether you should know some detail or not. Not the other way around. You are a solider, not the head. You shall do as I say and as I command or else we will have a problem." Another piece of metal came around Pyro's throat; tightening little by little. "Do I make myself clear?"

Pyro swollowed down hard then gasped, "Yes."

Magneto let him go and let him up. Pyro rubbed at his throat before standing up. He glared at Magneto before saying. "Alright oh fair ruler. You have it your way." And attempted to leave.

The doors closed and locked before Pyro could leave. He turned around to face Magneto who was walking to the window in his office. His office wasn't as big as his last one or as nice. The view wasn't of a river this time, but simply of trees. Pyro watched him and waited for him to speak as he stood silent facing out towards the window.

"The other break out you led in Texas, did you recognize or come across anyone who looked like Rogue?" Pyro raised his eyebrow, looking bewildered. Pyro tried to piece together what Magneto might be getting at. Magneto had half his answer from the look on Pyro's face. "Is it possible that if she was there, you did not see or come across her, yet you or one of the other Brotherhood members let her out of her cell?"

Pyro tried putting two and two together, but the answer was hazey. "Wait, are you saying that Rogue was in that base we destoryed like almost a month ago?" Magneto didn't say no, but he didn't say yes either. Nor did he give any signs of implying yes or no. "So...So Rogue was... Rogue was a prisoner? Being experimented on? Wow... No, I never saw her. It's possible I might have just not seen her, but I could round up the others and see if they seen her in one of the cells."

"There'll be no need for that Pyro. Even if we were to find out which base she was freed from or escaped, we both know that she was in one of Sinister's camps and what horrors she faced."

"Wait, Sinister?"

"Nathaniel Essex. Does that name sound familiar?"

"Yeah, he's the guy running for president. Doing pretty well too... Wait... Are you saying that they're the same person; this Sinister and Essex?" Magneto didn't answer. "And... And Sinister is the one whos running all these camps? And that..." He trailed off. Realisation hitting him. "Oh God." He said.

Pyro remembered the first time he had gone in a team with Magneto and Mystique to break out one of the bases. He was sick on there escape due to the smell and the half dead people in cages. He remembered seeing, viewing with his own eyes all the horrible tortures that each and very one of those mutants had been put through. He'd had to help those people get by in their lifes and start a new one. Those people had told him stories that had made him feel sick again and filled him with more hate and revenge for mutants. It had took him a long while to get used to freeing prisoners, and even when he went now, leading a group on his own, he still felt sick to what he found. Pyro was amazed though at who really had been behind all these death camps for mutants all along. "Sinister." He spat angrily.

"Indeed. It begins. The same slippery slop that led to Hitler's rule over Germany... I forced Rogue to tell me the truth about her past just after the run in with the mutant hunters. I got her defenceless and in a weak position, but I got the information I needed. Though, I do believe she hasn't revealed everything to me." Magneto said, sounding almost upset. "With Rogue's new information this gives us a goal to who we need to kill to get justice and freedom for mutants everywhere."

"We're gonna kill Essex?"

"Not Essex. Sinister."

"What about Rogue?" Pyro asked.

"What about her?"

"You said she was vital to knowing what's going on with the Professor messing with our heads. Why'd you let her go when we still need answers from her?"

Magneto frowned, turning to look out his window again. "I did search for her and had a team search for her too. You was apart of that team, remember. The reason I gave up so easily though was because I know where she'll be and when she'll be there."

"Really? Where? When?"

"Washington DC. When Sinister goes to make another public speech."

XXXXX

_A week later_

Rogue was watching the news report with a bottle of beer in her hand, a slim black dress on with a silk scarf wrapped around her neck, black heels and a geezer of a man by her side trying to woo her. Rogue paid more attention to the TV report though as they explaced how Sinister was sky rocketing with support, mostly due to mutant hate groups like the Friends of Humanity. After the report, Rogue downed her drink in one then turned to the geezer and told him to meet her in the bathroom, shortly. The man followed with a spark in his eye.

In the bathroom, Rogue waited until the door opened and the geezer who had bought her a drink, came into the empty bathrooms. Rogue moved to lock the door, but before she could even turn around fully, the dirty geezers hands roughly grabbed her hips, pushing her up against the door and began kissing her on the lips and all down the neck. Rogue felt disguested as their was now a trail of saliva running down her face. She felt uncomfortable as she felt the man's boner sticking into her penvis as he forced her legs apart. The make out session didn't last long though and soon the man fell to the floor, unconsious.

Rogue moved to clean herself up, take the man's money and car keys and left the bathroom, leaving him there on the floor. She could care less about the cheating get and just wanted to get out of there. Rogue found his car, climbed in it and speed off down the quiet road. Rogue checked her review mirrors to see if anyone was following her. For some strange reason Rogue had a feeling someone had been watching her all that time while she was at the bar. She just wanted to get away from it and the disterbing thoughts in her head. And she thought she had.

Until the car suddenly stopped. Rogue was thrown forwards, but was lucky she had her seat beat on. Rogue's breathing was heavy as she looked around her, trying to astablish what had just happened. Her answer soon appeared in front of her though, as Magneto flew down to land in the road in front of her. They locked eyes. Rogue questioned how she should act and what she should do around Magneto and questioned why he was here and how he had found her.

Magneto began to walk towards her side of the car door. Seeing no advantage in staying in the car, Rogue quickly undid her seat belt and got out just in time to meet Magneto at the door. They locked eyes again for a moment and just as Magneto was about to speak, Rogue asked, "What'd you want?" Her voice sounded sore and quiet, but there was still demand in it.

Magneto frowned, not liked being talked to in this manner. "Why do you think I'm here?" Magneto questioned.

Rogue leaned against the car, looking casual, but instead was ready to fight if she had to. Rogue shrugged, not wanting to talk much.

"You ran away? Why?" Magneto asked.

"You know why." Rogue said.

"Rogue, do not toy with me. I am not in the mood." Magneto said.

"Neither am I." Rogue said. "You know why I left."

"Because of him? Because of Sinister?"

As Magneto said his name a chill ran throughout Rogue's body like it usually did when she heard that name. It was quickly followed by anger and rage. Suddenly, Rogue didn't care about not wanting to speak to him. She had been pissed off when she saw him, but now she was angry. "Yeah. But I guess your here to stop me from going any further though, huh. Stop me from stealin' any of your thunder. Guessin' you wanna kill _Doctor_ Sinister yourself? Use his death to address the mutants and have all of them follow such a great leader, hmmm? Am I right?"

Magneto became more agrovated. "Don't Rogue!" He simply stated.

"Don't what? Tell you exactly what's on your mind?-"

"Do not twist this against me!-"

"But you know I'm right. You know what I'm saying is the truth and you know that what your gonna do isn't the right way to approach this. Magneto, what are you doing?" Rogue questioned shaking her head and finally dropping her front to show her tiredness and iritation with him. She was in pain, body and head wise, stressed and couldn't deal with having to fight him when she needed to store her anger for later. Magneto was suprized at this, and angered.

"I am doing what is best for my people."

"No, your not. Your working outta anger. You wanta war Magneto."

"A war maybe the only way to solve this."

"No, it's not." Rogue breathed.

Magneto was still strong in his anger. "Look throughout the humans history Rogue. What you'll see is a history full of death and murder of a lot of innocent people who were killed simply because they were different. Humanity is it's own worst enemy and we shall not be dragged down to their level. A war would help divide us from the humans and once we concer the humans, we will be able to start a new life. A new being of a species and make ourselfves better than humans ever have before."

"There's just one big major fault in that plan Magneto." Rogue said. "You wanna know what that is?" Magneto said nothing, just glared down at her. "Right now, right here, in this moment in time, it's not the humans who are taking us prisoner and experimenting on us. No, Sinister isn't a human Magneto. He's a mutant just like you and me. He's a bad mutant just like you can get bad people and that's the biggest mistake you have there Magneto. Even if you were to get rid of all the humans in the world, we'd still struggle ourselves with other mutants, only, they'd be more powerful and harder to stop compared to humans. You might think your a supime ruler Magneto and I see and understand that you want justice and equality and freedom and peace. But the thing is sugar, that's never gonna happen."

There was silence. Rogue let Magneto absorb it. He seemed mad still, but she knew from his silence that she was getting to him slowly. "Besides Magneto, what about the good human beings who do support humans? The human beings who would fight besides us in a war if the world did split into two for and against mutants' freedom? What of them? They would risk their lives for us, why should we kill them? Just 'cause they're human. Then who'll be the hypocrite, hating another species simply because they exisit? Your becoming excally what your fighting against Magneto. And it'll be your down fall. You might as well just help as many mutants as possible and just wait for the day when mutants out populate the humans, 'cause if we are the next stage in evolution like you keep saying, then humans will be extinct soon and it'll be a mutant world for all." Rogue finished. By the end of her long speeches, her throat was very sore and Magneto noticed this too.

"What is wrong with your voice?" Magneto asked.

Rogue went silent. Magneto reached up and pulled at the scarf. There, on Rogue's neck, was a burnt in ring mark on her neck, with the redding cuts reaching up and down her neck. Magneto frowned. "What happened to your neck?"

"Power neglector." Rogue said silently. "I... They used to put them on us while we were in our cells." Rogue's eyes took a deep reminising look. I remember I managed to figure out how to get it off once, but in turn to getting it off it... shocked me and sort of... blow up a little... It'll heal though. It did the last time... I couldn't take it off any other time they put me in my cell... They put me in straight jackets after that."

Magneto shuck his head, muttering 'Stupid girl.' He hooked his finger under her chin. "You do realise you put yourself in more danger by being alone. You should have never left us, even if you were angry at me or felt betreyed. I would protect you Rogue."

Rogue glared at Magneto and hit his hand away. "I don't need your help."

"I find that hard to believe. Didn't I just watch you con a disgustingly drunken man into giving you his wallet and car inexchange for sex." That wasn't meant as a question. It was a statement. So he had been there watching her; probably in a dark corner. Rogue looked down and away, a look of dissapointment on her face. "You used your powers on him, did you not."

"Yeah, so what?" Rogue snapped, looking Magneto back in the eye again. "He was a dirty, cheatin', liein' mug anyway. 'Sides, I don't see why you should be so fuzzed about how I get by. If anything I would've thought you'd be happy or glad I was usin' my powers to con humans."

"I am, but at the same time I am not glad to see you lowering yourself to that point when you are a smart and cleaver and respectful young lady. The only reason you have to do that is because of society and it's moral prejudices. To have their dirty greedy hands all over you for even a moment detesteds me. The very image, the very idea-... Are you smirking. Do you enjoy being treated like a one dollar hooker?"

Rogue had let a smirk of a smile creep onto her face. "No." She said solemly. "It's just... You sound jealous."

"Jealous? I am not jealous of _that_ type of scum you assosiate yourself with my dear. Simply irrtated that you have been reduced to such horrible settings when you could do and be so much more."

"So your not jealous, but you still wouldn't mind cutting their throats."

"Gladly." Magneto said which made Rogue's smirk wider.

"So your not jealous, your just angry I've been kissing other guys and you just want to murder them because they touched me. Awww, still seems like jealously to me Erik." Magneto just glared at Rogue, though it was half hearted. Rogue stepped forwards. "I was wondering what it was that happened in your room. Could you enlighten me to that?"

"You were the one to kiss me Rogue." Magneto said, raising n eyebrow and realising just how young and stupid he sounded.

"And you went along with it. Beside, I would never have done it if it wasn't in your head too. If you wasn't thinkin' about doin' it. But ya were and you kissed me back."

"And then you left." He said low Ki.

"Because you used and manpulated me and I have other goals and reasons in life to live for. We've both said it Magneto. We both have the same goals, both on the same side, I just need to kill Sinister before you can make a big scene out of it and have my revenge for what he's done to me." Rogue looked away from him in angry. Her passion and softeness gone once again as it came down to that monster.

Magneto hooked his finger under Rogue's chin and turned her to look at him. "Let me be clear. I find you very attractive Rogue and I find your new found character intriguing. You always seem to suprize me and know me better than I know myself. But I am old and we're both in a life threating possition each day. Your right. Each of us have our own drive and while they may be very similar, we still have seprate ways and goals to focus on which are more important to us than our romantic lifes."

Rogue nodded her head, understanding more of what the Magneto in her head was explaining to her than the real life one. "You think we shouldn't be together because there's too many things in the way?"

Magneto moved his other arm around Rogue's waist, pulling her to rest against his body and stroked her check. "It's why I believe we should take whatever happiness we can when we can, though not expect the other to be top prioraty. We both have other priorities and each other is not the first on our lists. Come back with me Rogue." He moved closer to her ear and whispered. " We can take down Sinister together."

He was intriguing and everything seemed all so easy being wrapped in his arms and him saying he'll make what she wants happen. But Rogue wasn't stupid and knew Magneto too well. She slipped her hand up his chest and around his neck, slipping off her gloves smoothly as she said in her successful practised seduction tone. "Yes. I'd like that. But-" And she touched the back of his neck. Magneto jolted and tried throwing her away from him, but she forced herself forwards, jumping up and wrapping her legs tightly around his waist. "a lesson in life Magneto, that we both know. Never trust anyone."

Magneto fell to his knees with Rogue still wrapped around him. He reached out for the metal of the car to come and attack Rogue. Rogue, who also had the power of metal now and whom was much stronger in energy and strengh than Magneto, turned the metal away from them so they impacted on the ground next to them. "You know what Magneto." Rogue said. "I would actually love to go back with you. But I can't. Can't because I have to kill Sinister before you make another huge mistake. Can't because I know that you'll just use me for my powers and information and you won't actually care about me once I'm used up. I know you Magneto, better than you know yourself and you know this. The only time I would ever come to you again will be when you realise that your way is half right yet half wrong, and once I know I can trust you to actually do the right thing. Only then Magneto will I be truely happy and able to sleep knowing that I've got you to come get me if I ever get captured again." A tear slipped from Rogue's eye, landing on Magneto's check and as he faded the tear fell from his check.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

"So, you think Magneto's going to try and kill Sinister?" Asked Cyclopse to the Professor.

"Yes. I took the information from Pyro's mind while he was in the base talking to you. He seemed to have a faint idea that Magneto didn't like the new presidents and would most likely attempt to kill him. The best chance I can see to kill Doctor Essex would be here, in Washington." Answered the Professor.

"What else did you see in that man's mind chuck?" Wolverine asked. All the X-Men looked to him. "That Rogue girl popped up again only in conversation this time. Who is she Professor?" Wolverine questioned.

All eyes turned to the Professor. "Now Logan, she is a lost cause whom has sided with the Brotherhood. From what we've seen of her attacks on us, she already had the making to becoming another of Magneto's soliders."

"Yeah, but we still don't know why she was screaming at us that we should know her and that it was us who abandoned her. Something isn't right here chuck. You must feel it. Somethings off with the Rogue." Wolverine said.

"The girl has the power to absorb people's mind, thoughts, memories and, if mutant, our powers. The girl must have absorbed too many people and became confused as to who we were."

"If she was a troubled mutant Professor, then why didn't you take her in? Help her like your helping the rest of this school handle their powers?"

"Because Logan I don't think there is anything I can do to help her with her powers. The mind is a very complex thing and with all those thoughts and memories that are not hers it would be hard for her to even realise who she is, even if all of the memories were removed. And there is the point that she also ran away from us." Finished the Professor.

"They after we attacked her." Iceman said, looking down to the floor with a cold expression on his face.

"You did what you thought was right at the time and you protected our students." Replied the Professor.

"But we've also neglected a mutant who could have done with our help before the stinkin' Brotherhood got a hold of her. Didn't you ever think to try and reach out to her mentally to calm her down and help her?" Logan argued a point.

"Her mind was, is, very complex Logan. I did not pick up on her true thoughts as easily as I did from understanding her motives when I entered Pyro's mind. Besides, it's too late to help her now. We best move on off of her and think of how we can prevent another future presidents death." Said the Professor.

Wolverine glared at the Professor before turning around and leaving the room. There was something about that girl, right from the start, that had him feeling weird. Gving him a weird feeling like a part of his past was facing him again, but he just couldnt remember it or understand it. Logan didn't believe that the Professor was being sinsere in his attempt to reach out for the girl either. That made him more curious and pissed off at the Professor and Rogue.

Wolverine had made it to the garage and was climbing onto Cyclopse's bike.

"Logan." Said a soft voice, though it was loud and alterive. He'd reconise that voice anywhere. He stopped the engine and turned around to face Jean. "Where are you going?"

"Don't know. For a drive."

"Your upset about that Rogue girl, why?"

Logan looked forwards. "Truthfully Jean, I think it's because I know her from somewhere. Feel that there's something not quiet right here. Have you looked into her mind?"

Jean shuck her head, no. Wolverine seemed more disapointed. He pulled the helmet on.

"What crazy thing are you going to do now Logan?"

"You'll just have to wait and see." Said Wolverine before he rebbed up the bike and left the mansion.

XXXXX

The closer Rogue got to being nearer to Sinister the more she felt watched. The more she felt trapped. The more she felt painiced. Rogue was scared. More scared than when Sinister's Nasty Boys had dragged up all her fears and jumped her and then she had been terrified. Rogue was scared about what that man had done to her and what he could do to her.

But Rogue consentrated on her anger. She used that to push her forwards and she pictured the moment when she would see Sinister's body lay lifeless on the floor with blood oozing out of him. Then she knew he'd really be dead. Then she knew the nightmares would die with him. Then she'd know he'd no longer be able to hurt her or hunt her down. He'd be gone from her life and she could possibly stop running and try to have somewhat of a normal life. She doubted she ever would ever since she had became a mutant and she defently doubted things would be normal after trying to live with the X-Men's dreams of fitting in normally. Maybe, if he would let her, she could join Magneto again and try and fight for mutant acceptance.

She doubted it. But she could always keep tabs on what was going on for mutant rights and then try to help out as much as possible. Rogue wasn't sure what her future held, but she just wanted it to be one where she didn't have to live in fear.

Rogue stopped off in a small town and rented out a room to stay in for the night. She was tired after using Magneto's powers. She fell asleep straight away. Only to be woken up by not her nightmares, but by Magneto's.

Rogue woke up covered in sweat huffing and struggling to breath. Once she had calmed herself down and turned on the side lamp to lighten the room Rogue's thoughts went to some kind of weird twisted thought. She'd actually been somewhat glad that she'd had one of Magneto's nightmares instead of one of her own. It was still bad and scary as hell but it was sorta... nice knowing that she was going through it with Magneto. It made things a little better and a little easier. Besides, Magneto was strong. Stronger than her in so many ways. The mind was one of them. And though what he went through and seen and felt were really bad, he was still strong and tried to be fearless. It was kinda comforting and made her thing of how much easier things would be if she could have Magneto's mind with her always. Always there with her to see her through every little bad patch. But that couldn't and wouldn't happen.

Rogue locked away all her psychs that were loose in her head and opinionating on her thoughts and then tried to sleep again. Rogue found, that clearing her head that night, was easier due to Magneto's strong persona helping to push them back and willingly leaving Rogue to her own thoughts. Rogue had noticed that his whole approach and oppinions had changed towards her. Though she didn't dive into his thoughts to know what he was thinking. She was felling rather guilty already for taking advantage of him like she did. But then again, he was proud of her for it.

Rogue fell asleep again, only to be awoken by a three cold tips touching her neck. Rogue's eyes snapped open and she was alter to everything. Straight away she turned from relaxed to defence, ready to attack. When she spoon her arm around to hit whoever had grabbed her, her arm was caught and stopped. Rogue's eyes widened as she looked up at the Wolverine.

"Hey kid. No need to fight. I'm here for answers. Now you can neither answer them like a good girl, or someone's gonna get hurt and it aint gonna be me." The Wolverine pulled Rogue over onto her back and Rogue felt his knee keeping one both her legs. He still had one arm pinned, and he was very aware of the other. Rogue was trapped."Start talking?"

Rogue looked from his arm to his eyes. Angry Wolverine was up front. "What do ya wanna know?" Rogue asked a little scared, but trying not to show it.

"Answers. Who are you?" He asked.

Rogue raised her eyebrow. "How'm I suppose to answer that without losing ma head? I've already told you who I was once before and you almost killed me."

"I want to hear your story. From the beginning. No tricks. I'll know if your lieing."

"If you know when I'm lieing then why didn't you believe me when I told you who I really was?"

"Because you attacked us first."

"You refused to give me a chance. I had to get your attention somehow. Plus y'all really pissed me off!"

"Yeah, well that's life sweet heart. Life's full of shit, now I wanna hear your story from the top. You've got five seconds."

"So you really wanna hear my story do you? After a years past?"

"Four seconds."

"I can sum it up in one second."

"Three seconds."

"I was a mutant at Xaveir's school. I was woken up one night by you, told to pack a bag and when I got downstairs the Professor kicked me out and wiped everyone's memory of me."

"Why would he do that?"

"Believe me I've been asking myself that for the past year."

"What did you do to piss him off so much?"

"Nothing."

"I don't believe you."

"No? Well, I've spent the past year wondering the same question. I've wondered what is is I could have done wrong or said wrong. If it was my school work; no I was getting all A's. If it was my field work as an X-Man; possibly yet there's mutants passed who've never joined the X-Men. If I was a danger to people; yes, but every mutant is dangerous. I even asked if it was 'cause I'm from the south, but no, he has other southern students. Even international. He wasn't being rasict. I asked if it was because of what happened with Magneto, but I doubt that would be it. If it was then he wouldn't want the same sinario happening all over again and would wanna keep me safe and locked up so that Magneto couldn't get his hands on me. I have no idea what else he would kick me out for."

The Wolverine seemed dissapointed. "Really? No money went missing, or no threats were being given?"

"No. I would never take the Professor's money. And I never build anyone. I had a boyfriend, Bobby Drake, and me and his were like the younger Cyclopse and Marvel Girl. How is Jean anyway? She still picking one eye over you?-"

"Shut up!" Wolverine said, digging his claws in deeper so a little bit of blood drew.

Rogue swollowed down a breath. " About what Wolverine? About Jean and Scott being together. Or the fact that she's chose him over you. How about that you've got your heart so set on Jean Grey, yet all she does is flirt with the bad boy, but always go back to her good little two shoes Scotty boy? How does it feel to be played like that Logan? Hurts doesn't it. Just like you hurt me. You have no idea what I've been through. What we've been through. You've lost your memories again. Only this time, you've not lost all the answers yet to a part of your confused, messed up life. Yet, here you are ready to cut my freakin' head off. Well, good luck finding answers after I'm gone 'cause only two other men remember what's happened and both of them are your enimes."

"And your not?" Wolverine said, raising his eye brow.

"I wouldn't be, no. If you'd just given me a chance to explain thing like you want me to now. But even now your threatening me when I would gladly tell you the truth if you wanted to hear it. The question isn't can you trust me. It's can I trust you?"

Wolverine thought of what to do. Looked from his claws then back to Rogue. "No funny stuff or I will hurt you." And Wolverine retracted his claws. Slowly he got up and Rogue sat up with him, rubbing her neck, frowning at the blood on her hand.

"You sure do have a habbit of attacking me in the night." Rogue muttered.

"What?" Wolverine asked.

"Nothing. Right, you want the truth?"

"In detail!"

"Fine, but don't start yelling at me that I'm lieing. You asked for the truth and the truth is your perfect Professor is really an arse." Wolverine raised his eyebrow at this and eyed her. Rogue looked away, then continued with her story. "Basically, I got kicked out of my home when I was fourteen went on the run for nine month and during that time I met you in a bar I'd been dropped off at. You were in a cage fight and some guy who lost to you in a fight came over to you when you were sat drinking a beer. He called you a mutant freak and demanded his money back, but you told his to get lost, only he didn't and he was going to hit you from behind. I screamed at you look out and you did. You showed your claws then left after you got kicked out. I followed you and climbed into the back of your truck. I was hoping to catch a rid of someone in there and you were one of the first one's to leave. Plus you were just like me. A mutant. I hadn't met any other mutant before so I kinda didn't wanna lose you. Only you found me in the back of your truck and kicked me out. You stopped though and let me catch up to you and sit in the front with you. We talked about our mutations and I got to learn that it hurts." Rogue looked at Logan's fists. "Every time they come out." There was a silence and Rogue wondered if those words brought back memories for him. Memories that gave him that strange look on his face. "You...trouble me you wasn't going to hurt me when you went to put my hand on the heater because I was cold." A smirk of irony appeared on Rogue's face. "I told you it was me who was scared of hurting you. I guess you can tell what I told you after that. My powers. Not long after that the truck got hit by a tree that this guy named Sabretooth had cut down and throw at it. I told you you should have been wearing your seat belt but you didn't listen and you went right through the glass. You got up though and healed quickly. But you got knocked out by Sabretooth."

Rogue went quiet. Wolverine felt confused and couldn't remember that those memories existed. But he didn't think she was lieing. If she was then she was a very very convincing liar, just like the X-Men had all believed when she'd started talking about having their memories wiped. "Then what happened?"

"Then the X-Men happened. We were saved and taken back to the mansion. I put in classes and you were hanging around the place because the Professor said he'd help you find your memories. We went through a lot of stuff together. At one point, you sacrifed your own life for mine." Wolverine was taken back by those words. Very taken back. He wouldn't just die for anyone. Rogue looked saddened. "Sabretooth wanted me, but the Professor thought he wanted you so everyone believed him and everyone was looking out for you. One night... There was an axcident." Rogue looked away from him.

"Axcident? What Axcident?"

She looked back. "You were having nightmares about Weapon X again. Experimenting on you. You were locked down in water by metal straps with these lines drawn all over you marking where they were going to pirce the needles and put-"

"I know what they did. But how did you know that? Are you working for them? The people who did this to me?" Wolverine growled.

"No." Rogue said calmly. "It was way before my time. Possibly before I was even born. I don't know. But, when I touch someone I don't just knock them out I take their memories too. I took some of yours and now I wake up with the same nightmares and the same horrible gut feeling you have whenever you have that dream. I feel all the pain you felt and I have to live with the psych of you in my head very day that wonders and questions how he even came to being. I don't have those answers for you Logan. Only the memories that have been stolen from you by the Professor... After you stabbed me Mystique, a shape shifter, sneaked onto campus as Bobby and told me that everyone was scared by me and that the Professor wanted me to leave. So I ran away again." Rogue looked down and away from Logan. "I'd really hurt you after you stabbed me through the chest and I-"

"Wait, I stabbed you?"

"Yeah. I tried waking you up, but you woke up screaming and attacked whoever was closest to you. And I just happened to feel my lungs get ripped by three large wholes in my chest. I couldn't breath and I was dieing fast. I did the only thing I thought I could do to stay alive and that was touch you and absorb your healing abilities."

Wolverine nodded his head. "And you were ashamed you did that?"

Rogue nodded her head. "Well, if I really have sacrifed myself for you in the past and gone to that much trouble with you, I don't think you should be ashamed or worried about that kid."

Rogue turned her head at hearing that. "Say that again."

"What? Kid?"

Rogue smiled. "You used to call me that all the time. I hated that nickname."

"You are a kid." Rogue frowned.

"Not anymore... Anyway, Mystique tricked me into running away and guess what happened next Logan?"

"I went after you?" Wolverine said, not looking quite as if he was aware of what was coming out of his mouth.

Rogue smiled and nodded. "Yes. You came onto the same train as me and let me cry on your shoulder. I told you about the voices in ma head then and how now you'd be apart of them... I know your still there in my head, but I do still miss hearing you as often as I'd like."

Rogue went quiet again, staring off into the distant. "What'd you mean miss me?"

Rogue looked at him, sadness in her eyes. She could never hide herself from Wolverine. Rogue blinked then became hardened again. "Nothing. Anyway, after you convinced me to come back with you to the X-Men and promised to look after me no matter what, Magneto happened."

Wolverine growled. Rogue glared at him. "He's not that bad."

"Ha, you would say that. You following in his shoes now Rogue? Killing the president."

Rogue shuck her head. "We're not the same. We have things in common. A lot of things in common but we're not the same. We both have different view on how to handle-"

"Hand coulda fooled me. Killing the president doesn't seem like something Magneto wouldn't disagree to."

"No, but it had to happen, and the death of the new guy too. That needs to happen and it's going to happen. For the good of mutants everywhere."

"You're going to kill again." Wolverine growled. "You're turning into a ruffless killer Rogue. Just like him. Yet, you still think your nothing like him."

"I didn't say I'm nothing like him-"

"He's molding you into his own personal-"

"He isn't doing anything to me!" Rogue yelled. Wolverine was shocked into silence at the rage and passion from Rogue as she yelled. "I killed the president before I even went back to the Brotherhood! I was planning and going to kill Sinister before I was even freed!" Rogue was up on her feet, her eyes wide and turning red with rage. "That- That monster will be the death of hundreds of thousands of mutants just like the jews when Hitler took control. Millions are going to die and your blood X-Men are going to try and protect him because you don't believe in a little violence. What's one death compared to hundreds living. And that's esaclly what Magneto was thinking when he kidnapped me. He was going to sacrafic me on his machine to turn millions of humans into mutants. Into us. Even if a load of humans dead it would mean mutants would over populate humans and we'd be able to take more control and have more control to make sure that most mutants are ok and not getting abused or experimented on or killed like Sinister will do to his own kind when he takes control! I was terrified and I didn't see or understand what he was doing or why he was doing it at the time, but I was in pain and didn't care. I wanted the agony to stop! And you! You and the X-Men came to my rescue. You saved me and cut me down from that herendus machine. And you did. You set me free... But it was too late. I was dead." Rogue let that settle as she tried to calm down. "I was dead and you brought me back to life.

Wolverine looked questioning and unbelieving. "I touched you."

Rogue nodded her head. "Yeah. You touched me with your bare hand and held me close. Slowly I started to absorb you and your healing powers but the more I absorbed the weaker you got... If I absorb someone for to long I...I kill them."Rogue shrugged her shoulders, but Wolverine could tell there was something sad about them. "You held on and wouldn't let go. When I took your healing powers, the stabs and cuts from the fight you had before started to reappear and you we're starting to died. If I hadn't pushed you off when I did, I could have killed you... I was terrified you were going to die... They let me be in the medlab with you for a little bit just to look me over. But then they kicked me out and Bobby dragged me away so I wouldn't be sat outside the medlab waiting for you to wake up. I would have stayed there all day and night or however long it took if I could." Rogue took a harsh look. "But then you healed, got up and left me behind." Rogue glared at him. "You left me with only a necklace left behind that was a promise you'd come back for me. I gave it you back when you did, but that day was also the night you woke me from my sleep and the Professor kicked me out with no reason or expliantion. I left having my heart broken that the one man who had been there the most for me during my entire life didn't even want me."

Wolverine looked a little worried. "Did we, erm." He said, not meeting Rogue's eye, but when he did he had a raised eyebrow. Rogue shuck her head. Wolverine nodded his. "Look kid, I don't remember any of this happening."

"Of course you don't the Professor wiped away all your memoires of me."

"What proof do you have Rogue?"

"I have the memories missing of me in your life. I have a part of you inside of me and can tell you secrets about yourself that you never tell anyone. I have Magneto, who remembers all this too, who could most likely tell you I'm telling the truth. He had his helmet on when the Professor tried to wipe his memory. I know that it'd also take a very powerful telepath to do what he's done and that he also has cerebro to help him. Why he's done it though I don't know."

Logan's lips twisted. "That ain't really solid evidence kid."

Rogue huffed and looked away in disbelieve. "You don't believe me. Typical." She glared at him. "Why would you take the word of a messed up 'kid' to the all great and might Professor X? If there's nothing else, I want ya to go!"

"I didn't say I didn't believe you-"

"Then what Logan? You can't believe both! It's one or the other. You either believe me and that I was apart of your life but that he got rid of me and those memories you had of me, or you can believe your Professor and believe that I'm really a messed up kid in the head who makes up stories and is dangerous to anyone and everyone I'm around. Then again. Rogue looked away. "He wouldn't be far off there."

"Look kid, I don't know what's going on or who to believe, but... Something tells me to believe you." Rogue looked to him with hope in her eyes.

"You do."

He nodded his head. "I've given you a long time to escape, but you haven't taken them. And not many people could come up with a story like that. Yeah, I believe you kid. I got questions, just like I think you have, but... I'm guess as long as you promise not to go on a pyscopathic rage and kill a load of people then we could find those answers together."Wolverine retracted his claws. "Come on kid. Let's go back to the X-Men and find out what's really going on here. What do you say?"

Rogue was hit with a memory of being on the train and Wolverine getting her to come back. She wanted to say yes and have everything just go back to how it used to be. But she knew that wouldn't happen. Rogue stepped forwards to Wolverine outstreched hand and shuck it. "That would be really nice." Rogue said stil looking down at Wolverine's hand. Then her eyes darted to Wolverine and he was sent flying across the room; pinned against the wall. "But I'm afraid I can't do that sugar. I can't come back and pretend everythings the same. 'Cause it's not. Everythings different Logan. Everything. The stuff back at the manchine, people, me. We're all different and nothing can mend this Logan. Not even you. I'm sorry. But I've gotta do what my life's mission is. And that is to kill Sinister and everything he stands for." Rogue walked over to the struggling Wolverine and gently stroked her finger down his check; absorbing him. "You'll understand when you know who he is and what he's done and what he's planning to do. You'll plan to kill him just like you plan to kill the people who experimented on you. We're both the same Logan. Remember that."

And with that Wolverine passed out.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen**

"You found her?" Pyro asked Magneto when he got back. Magneto didn't answer. Pyro saw he looked frustrated and angry. "I guess you did."

"Not now Pyro!"

Pyro quietened, but never left his office. He witnessed Magneto slam his fist and power down so hard that he crushed his desk into the ground, then threw it into the wall on the other side of the room. He was really pumped.

"I take it things with Rogue didn't go well?" Pyro commented quietly.

Magneto tried to control his breathing then straightened his back.

"She is going after Sinister, as are we. Pyro, get a team together, track her down and stop her... No matter what the cost."

Pyro raised his eyebrow at this. "Wait, what about my lost memory? What about the Professor-"

"I gave you orders Pyro." Magneto yelled, turning around to glare at him. "Do as you're told and don't fail me!"

Pyro couldn't say anymore as he was thrown back and out of the room by the metal he was wearing and the doors slabbed shut in his face.

XXXXX

Wolverine woke up moaning. He felt horrible. The morning sunlight hit his eyes through the thin curtains and he was awoken. He got up wondering what had happened. Then he happened to catch her scent and he remembered. Rogue. He growled then got up to his feet. As he stormed out of the building, he came to find a suprize outside. The X-Jet was landing in front of the cheap hotel. Wolverine watched it, replaying everything that he was told the other night in his head and trying to come to a decition what to do.

The ramp came down and out came Cyclopse, the Professor, Storm and Jean.

"Logan, why did you run off?" Storm asked.

Wolverine looked between Storm, Jean and then to the Professor whoms eyes he locked one to.

"You found her didn't you Logan? You went after Rogue. What happened? Are you alright?"

"Yeah. I'm peachy. Better than I was before actually. And your just the person I wanted to see."

"What is it Logan? Have you found out some information about Rogue? What she is up to?"

"Yeah, but that's not what I meant. Last night Rogue told me some pritty interesting stuff."

"Becareful Logan. You cannot trust that girl."

"That's the thing chuck. I've been around for quite some time now and I've got pritty good at knowing when a person is lieing to me. The thing is though, I didn't see any tell or any reason why she'd lie to me about what she's been through."

"Wolverine-"

"So, it begs the question chuck, if she's telling the truth and someone has wiped all our minds of her then who and why have they done it?" Wolverine glared down at the Professor.

The Professor looked outraged. "Are you insisting that it was me who's abused my powers and made everyone, including myself forget about that girl?"

"I didn't say that chuck, but someone's been messing with our minds. Maybe even hers. I don't know what's going on here, but all I know is I gotta find and stop that kid before she does anymore damage."

"What do you mean Logan? What is she to do?" Asked Storm, grabbing his arm to stop him from leaving so soon.

Wolverine looked from Storm to the Professor. "She's gonna kill the new president or something. I don't know who or which one, but she refered to him a lot as Sinister... She said she was doing it for the greater good of mutants everywhere."

"She's been brainwashed by Magneto then."

"That's what I was thinking, but, truth is I don't think that's the case. Why would she be out here in a cheap crappy hotel instead of hiding out with the Brotherhood if she was really on Magneto's side? I think she has her own reason for going after this guy Sinister... " Wolverine looked down to the floor. "Said that Magneto and I were the only two who'd understand." There was silence for a moment as Wolverine again tried to recall and link together what it was she was hinting at. He looked up to the Professor with determination and leadership in his eyes. "Professor, I think we need a background check on all these wannabe presidents and some information on who this Sinister guy is. You all go back and try to figure that stuff out. I've got a scent on Rogue. She couldn't have gotten far. I'll track her down, try and talk some sense into the kid."

"Because that worked last time." Cyclopse commented. Wolverine turned and glared at Cyclpose then took a step towards him, grabbing his roughtly by his coat.

"Logan." Jean gasped.

"Listen Bob, that girl's been through a lot and is scared of her own goddamn shadow. Someone's messing with her head and messing with all of ours and when I find out who and why I'm gonna stab them through the guts. You got that Cyk?"

"Your not normally the one best with teenagers Wolverine." Cyclopse's said, pushing Wolverine off him. "Jean and I should go. You'll just scare her."

"No. The kid and me have a bond. I'm going."

"Oh yeah and what's that? You've both killed people?" Wolverine's claws came out.

"Enough both of you!" Cried the Professor. "Logan what do you mean you have a bond with the girl?"

"Like I said chuck, I took time to listen-"

"Huh, that's rich." Interupted Cyclopse.

"And" Continued Wolverine, ignoring Cyclopse. "I found out she's just a kid running scared because of all the things that's happened to her. And that one of the memories that were lost was that I'd sacrifed my own life for hers. Now, I wouldn't just sacrific myself for anyone. There's something about her too. Something that just screams that I should know her and know who she is. We've been tracking to track her down and her past for a year Charles and this is the closest thing we've got since she first came up on the sense. I'm going after her, whether you like it or not and I'm gonna talk some sense into the kid and try to get her to come back with us. But you've all got to be understanding."

"Ha." Said Cyclopse, irnoically.

"Very well. Jean, Scott, you'll come back to the mansion with us and then you'll take a smaller jet to locate Wolverine. Jean and Scott will acompany you finding her. The rest of us will look into findign out who is actually running for president and what they want. Come now. The longer we banter the less time we have." And the Professor turned around to leave with the other X-Men following him.

Logan growled then turned around to go to his bike, but it was gone. He growled again. "Rogue."

XXXXX

Rogue was close now, so very close. She was one day away from Washington and in another two days, she'll be stood over Sinister's dead body, finally feeling free from her nightmares.

Rogue had crashed in another hotel after pulling another dirty geezer and woke up with a start. She could smell smoke and hear the crackling of fire. When she looked around her dark room it was to see that her whole room was on fire. Rogue swore under her breath and did the only thing she thought she could do. Wrapping the blanket around her tightly, Rogue ran and jumped out of her window, smashing into the glass and feel from the first floor to the ground. She landed hard, rolling a little as she did, but the blanket had helped cution the blow, though not very much.

Slowly Rogue got up and on to her feet. She looked back at the hotel, seeing the whole building was largely up in flames. Rogue's head snapped from left to right. To her left she saw fire engines and police and to her left, she saw the menise who was burning the building. Pyro. He'd stopped when he's looked to his left and saw Rogue looking at him.

"Sorry about this Rogue, but orders are orders."

Rogue jumped and rolled out of the way of Pyro's fire bomb and began running into the forest. She knew it was defently not good cover, but it helped camoflarge her. Before Rogue could run straight forwards much further, something dropped down in front of her from the trees, landing on all fours. Toad.

Rogue ducked the toad's long tongue, which ended up getting trapped in a tree. Rogue kept running, only then to come across Domino who jumped out at her from behind a tree; blocking her path.

"Domino."

Domino aimed her guns at Rogue and Rogue knew there was no point trying to get around this. Domino had luck on her side.

"I'm sorry Rogue." Domino said, before shoting Rogue in the knee cap. Rogue screamed in pain, going down holding her knee. The next thing Rogue knew there was a bag over her head and she felt something hard knock against the side of her head. She was out cold.

XXXXX

When Rogue woke up, she woke up to the darkness. And to find her hands and legs were bound. Her leg still hurt, but she could feel it had been wrapped up in a bandage and treated. It took some struggle, but Rogue finally got the bag off her head. She blinked a few times, though found that the lighting wasn't much better where she was. It looked like she was in a shed of some sort. Rogue was confused. She thought the Brotherhood members were trying to kill her. Why let her live?

Rogue tried to move, but found that one, her leg was busted really badly and two she was chained to the wall. Rogue wasn't getting out of this one.

She wasn't sure how long she had been unconsious for or how long she just sat there day dreaming. All she knew was she heard a car pull up outside the shed and readied herself for some plan of escape. Who broke down the door she wasn't expecting.

"Logan?"

"Hey kid. Thought I smelt a rat, or toad or some kind of smelly animal drag you in here. You alright?"

Rogue generally smiled at Logan though it was an awkward one as she hadn't smiled in a long time. "Yeah. Well... No. Not really. My leg's screwed."

Logan eyed up her leg and the blood around it."I can see that kid. Huh, guess the Brotherhood really did a number on you didn't they?"

Rogue nodded her head. "Yeah. Don't know why they kept me alive."

"Me neither. Not normally their style."

"Speaking of styles, you gonna help me out or you gonna walk away?"

There was silence as the two locked eyes and rogue waited for a reply. She got one, Logan stepped forwards and released his claws. "You try anything, I'll stab another few holes in ya."

Rogue nodded her head. Logan untied her. Rogue sat up straighter and relaxed. "What time is it?"

Logan grimace. "Kid, you've been missing for several days."

Rogue glared at Logan. "What?"

He knew what she was really asking. "Yeah. You've missed you're shot at killing Sinister."

Rogue's eyes doubled in size and her breathing got deeper. "What? But? Did? Did Magneto? Did Magneto...?"

"No. He didn't get a chance. Turns out that Sinister guy you were reffering to had...a lot of back up and a lot of plans. Did you know about the sential robots Kid?"

Rogue looked at him questionably. "What?"

"Sentials. Giant robots. Designed to take out mutants."

Rogue looked down, thinking. "...He...He was working towards something." She looked into his eyes. "He liked my powers for their ability to..." Rogue stopped, not knowing if she should tell Wolverine of her developed powers or not. She decided to stay quiet.

"It's horrable aint it? Having to go back their." Wolverine said.

"You don't have to give me a 'oh everything will get better in time' or an 'i've been there' story. I already know all about it. Ya don't need ta talk down to me. Just tell me, what the hell's happenin' out there now."

Wolverine grimaced. "Not good, like always. Good thing is this Sinister guy isn't offically the president."

"What's the bad news?"

Pause. "He's already taking over, so it doesn't matter if he's called the president or not."

Rogue didn't look shocked or suprized. Just dissapointed. "He used the attack of the Brotherhood to get himself more financal supporters, didn't he?"

"That seems it."

"He used them... Let his men, The Nasty Boys find the Brotherhood and leak them information to who or what he was... He maniopulated me... " Rogue began standing up. "This is why I work alone." She was shakey on her one good leg, but used the wall to support her.

Wolverine stood up with her. "You know kid, it ain't your fault. Sinister woulda found a way to manipulate them without you there too."

"I know, but I still made it easier and less work for him. He's probably wondering why I didn't show up actually, at the speech. He captured a lot of mutants there didn't he?" Wolverine nodded his head."He wanted to capture me too. He was expecting me... I knew it from the start, but I thought if I was going down, then I could take him down with me." There was a tear in Rogue's eye. "And you now what." Anger now drove her. "I'm still gonna send em ta hell!"

"I get how your feeling kid, but you gotta listen to me." Wolverine touched her arm gently. "Killing him won't make the pain go away. It won't make it worse either, but it won't make it better. It doesn't matter if you kill him or not, they're still be people out there like him ready to take up his place. What you gonna do? Kill them too? Then what? You'll see yourself become a monster! You'll become just like Magneto! A cold empty shell with no right emotion or feeling left. Killing people. Being paranoid all the time. You'll be what you hate."

Rogue nodded her head. "Then what do I do Logan? Go back with you to the X-Men and forget all about Sinister, and what you X Men have put me through? Live day in and day out watching my ex boyfriend with another girl. Live walking down corridors, having people look at me strange and talk about me behind my back. Live with people knowing I can't trust them. That one day I might just wake up and get kicked out again, or worse. Someone else might get kicked out and my memory might be wiped off them. I might even just be forced to forget you Logan... I can't live like that. Knowing that any moment you might just be taken away from me again... And I can't live knowing now that mutants are being hunted down by sentials and experimented on. I'm gonna find a way to stop Sinister and everything he stands for. And Logan." Rogue had a deep and soft look in her eyes now, her lips parting as she grew closer. Wolverine's mind went blank for a moment as he got caught up in the heat of the moment. "I'm gonna do it on my own." And Rogue kissed Wolverine on the lips.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen**

Wolverine woke up in the empty shed two hours later, on the floor, passed out. "Shit." He muttered and put his head back down against the cold wood.

XXXXX

Rogue was fully healed now from Wolverine's healing factor which was good because she thought she had an infection in her leg. Now Rogue was up, had 'borrowed' clothes off a washing line and was hiding in plan sight, again, up to her old tricks of getting money and getting by. And by getting by, she was heading as fast as she could to a hidden base that was somewhat close to where she was. Rogue had learnt from Wolverine's memory that Magneto had been captured and was being experimented on by Sinister. Rogue slowed down on her motorbike as she got closer to the base. She was dressed in black, merging with the darkness, and walked through the forest to where the abandoned run down wearhouse was. Rogue found the man hole Sinister knew off and used this to get inside the underground base. The wearhouse was just a front.

Rogue slipped down the ladders, stopping as she heard and watched someone pass. Rogue jumped down on her tip toes and kept close to the walls as she quickly tip toed around. Rogue peeked around a corner and saw a guard woman was coming towards her. Rogue ducked down, waiting for when the woman came and then took her out. Rogue didn't find a place to find the woman, so left her there after dressing herself up in the uniform. She had a feeling people knew she was here.

Rogue moved coodrinatedly, making she went under all the camera's blind spot. She used the woman's card and ID to get deeper down into the base. Using all she could and knocking out a few people along the way, Rogue got the the prison cells, just as the alarms went off. In the cells, Rogue ran, breaking all the cameras, so no one could see what she was doing. They were on red alert. Rogue moved swiftly, looking through all the peep holes to see who was in which cell. She felt bad for leaving them, but she was there for one man only.

Rogue's heart fluttered harder when she found and had to abandon a beaten up Pyro. Two more cells down from him and there she found Magneto. He was lay out on the floor, stripped into a hospital gown and looked weaker than he'd ever been i such a long time. Rogue opened the door, watching his body stiffen as he heard it open. Magneto even attempted to get up into a fighting position as he got up onto his hands and knees. Rogue got on her knees in front of him, and he attempted to punch her. His punch was so weak. "Magneto." Rogue hissed, telling him off for trying to hurt her.

He looked up, his dull grey eyes wide with shock and suprize. "Rogue." Magneto could no longer hold his body weight and colpased in her lap. "Kill me. Please." He begged. Rogue felt that tight snapping of sympathy within her. She knew how hard it was in these cells. It was almost like reliving the holicaust again, only worse. They didn't kill you, they kept you alive and tortured you.

"No. We're gettin' outta here Erik." Rogue tried pulling Magneto up and successed getting him up, but was struggling with his weight. "Please Erik. You gotta help me and I can help you out too."

Magneto tried stepping forwards. It was a little help, but not that good. Rogue dragged Magneto a little down the hallway and then openned another cell. She let him lean on the wall, but he just collapsed down it. In the end Rogue dragged him inside, placing him in the blindspot of the cell where they couldn't be seen through the peep hole or the camera in the room. Rogue closed and locked the cell door behind her, just as she began hearing the soliders coming. She too hid in the eye hole's blind spot, taking Magneto's head and placing it in her lap. She whispered to him to not move and to be quiet. He obeyed her.

Rogue looked around the cell and saw a little girl no older than five sat in the other corner of the room, shivering. She had green skin, blue hair and red eyes. She looked terrified. It broke Rogue's heart seeing the girl wrapped up in bangages, but hurt even more as she knew she couldn't help her.

The peep hole opened and in peeked the guard. He saw the little girl and nothing else. He closed the peep hole and moved on. Rogue made both herself and Magneto wait in that cell for about half an hour. Rogue's heart was ponding and she was terried. But in that time, Rogue managed to slip out a small decieve and undo Magneto's power neglatar collar.

Magneto had trusted Rogue completely and let the beat of her heart calm him down. He heard that she was scared, but somehow just hearing she was alive and there and had a plan to get them out comforted him a lot.

"OK Erik, I got the collar off, but don't go doing anything yet. You gotta be honest and truthful with yaself. Your not yourself at the moment. Your not strong and powerful. You weak and hurt and if you try to take down this base, it's gonna backfire and your gonna be stuck in these cells for longer. Now listen to me. There's gonna be a few guards outside and we're gonna haveta take em out before they call tell the other people they've been knocked out OK. So, this is what I need ya to do and I need ya to do excasly what I say. I need you to rip off this metal door and the one opposite us and send each of the doors hurrdling down the corridors, one going down one way, the other going down the other and slam all those guards inta the wall, K. Do it now!"

Magneto sat up a little more, getting comfier. He tried to focus on what Rogue was saying. Tried to focus on finding the right metal he wanted to bend to his will. It took a few moments longer than when Rogue told him, but he did it and the doors were ripped off.

"OK, we gotta get up!" Rogue said, dragging him back up to his feet. Magneto tried to help, putting a lot of his weiht against Rogue as he lend against her, and tripping as they walked. "Make us an exit!" Rogue comanded.

Magneto looked forwards, confused at first, then molded a door way into the large metal door. They ducked under it and started to run down the corridor. They came across a few guards but they knocked them out with Rogue's instructions. Again, Rogue hid under them under the blind spots and slowly got them out of there, getting out the way she got in.

"There they are!" Rogue heard someone scream. Rogue knew they'd be out searching the forests. Finally, and seeing how exsorsed he was, Rogue touched Magneto's check, taking in all his pain he'd suffered and his powers. Using his powers of flight, Rogue dragged him up into the trees and began dragging him along through the trees. When they started shooting and Rogue felt one just miss her side, Rogue went higher into the sky and flew faster. They were soon out of reach of the guns. Rogue let out a sigh of relieve.

But then the Sentinals came. They shot at Rogue and Magneto, hitting both on the edge of the leg or shoulder. Rogue was feeling tired and weak, but she reached out with Magneto's powers and ripped the first Sentinal robot apart. One down, five more to go. Rogue noticed that they'd gone lower in height too from that use of power. But she did it again, and again, and again, and again, until there were two left and she was flying next to the ground, breathing heavily. She couldn't last much longer like this. She was becoming slower and weaker.

Twisting awake, Magneto scened Rogue's fear and the danger and he used up some of his last remaining strengh to take out another sentinal robot. Rogue was greatful, but after that one take out, Magneto was out cold. Rogue had passed the forst, and a few roads and fields to come to another road where she saw a truck with a lot of hay in the back. Rogue couldn't take the weight of Magneto much longer, so came to follow and hover over the truck, till they dropped into the hay. The sentianal still hot on their trail.

Rogue's breath was heavy and she held on tight to Magneto and the truck as the driver began to swirve in his fright. Finally coming to a stop. Rogue looked up, out of the hay and saw the sentianal was only inchies away from her. The sentianal reached down, grabbing Rogue by her chest, it's whole hand fitting around her body and pulled her out of the hay.

"Mutant. Identified. Rogue. V.P. V.P."

The sentianal then started to fly away, raising higher and higher into the sky with Rogue kicking and scratching at it's hand. Rogue had lost Magneto's powers now and was tired from all the fighting. Magneto was out cold and she knew it. One thing she didn't count on though was the man in the truck aiming and shutting down the Sentianal. The farmer shot it once, twice, three times, four times, five times, with a big gun until finally the sentaial fell, Rogue in hand. It was a hard landing, but Rogue would rather have hit her face off the concret Road then had to have gone back to her cell.

Slowly she got up, still weakened. "You alright there miss?" Asked the farmer."

Rogue looked up at the farmer and he saw the fear and hurt look in her eyes. She looked to the gun, to the man. "Oh, I ain't gonna shot ya. I know your a mutant. My daughter's a mutant too, but... Well they've got my daughter, the filth." Rogue watched the farmer look down at the robot in disguest. Rogue felt for him, really she did. Rogue got to her feet and said, "I'm sorry."

The farmer nodded, saying it wasn't her fault and if she needed a lift.

"I don't think that's a good idea." Rogue and the farmer were besides his truck now and Rogue reached in and began to pull Magneto out of the hay. "We've just escaped from a prison near by here. Best you don't know that though. But they're gonna b looking for us, stopping any car or truck that passes. You're life's in danger. We're gonna leave now, and not gonna trouble ya anymore. Thank ya for all your help."

Rogue had almost fully pulled Magneto out when she felt a hand clapse on her shoulder. "Now, I think that's my choice if I decide ta risk it. And I've chosen ta help you folks out. Besides." The farmer looked to the robot. "I already in trouble." He looked back to Rogue. "Now you just go get back in that hay and hid. I'll hide ya's both, but you gotta do as I say."

Rogue was scared to trust the man, but for some reason she nodded her head and climbed back into the hay where she cuddled besides Magneto and fell asleep. She felt the truck rattle as he began to drive.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen**

Rogue was awoken by someone nudging her. When she opened her eyes, hay got into them. Rogue forgot where she was and what she was running from and sat up, trying to pull the hay out of her eyes. When they stopped watering she was able to look at the farmer who helped save her and Magneto. The memories came back.

"You alright?" He asked.

"Yeah. I'm good thanks. Where are we?" Rogue asked looking around.

"Just outside a Washington."

Rogue nodded her head, then looked at the farmer examingly. "Your southern. What you doing up north?"

"Thought I'd be what's best for ma daughter in me, but ever since Jen got took, it's been just me searchin' the whole of Washington for her by maself. The cops won't help me 'cause she's a mutant-"

"You wanna know if I can help ya find her?" Rogue cut to the chase.

The man nodded his head. Rogue felt pity. She had an idea where his daughter was, but even going back that one time was too much for her. She could feel it. She had plowed in and out of there, not thinking much, but now the pain of having been back there hit her. She felt sick as she climbed out of the truck and curled over.

"You alright there?"

Rogue nodded her head. She thought she was just catching her breath, but instead sick started to come. The man stood unsure what to do except watch her.

Magneto sat up and looked around. He'd been awaken the same way Rogue had, only he had been too scared to move. But hearing Rogue choking and coughing, he felt it was his job to repay her for saving him; whatever the costs. He sat up and took in the scene before him. The farmer stood unsure of how to help while Rogue was being sick. Magneto saw that Rogue was reacting from shock. He attempted to climb out of the truck.

"Whoa, hey, easy there." Said the farmer as he fell out of the truck. The farmer only just caught him before he gasped.

"Y-Your Magneto." Breathed the farmer.

Magneto tried to push the man away, though he was very weak and he tried to use the edge of the truck to help get himself back up.

Rogue had finished being sick and now stood up straight. She turned and noticed Magneto was up and wobbly. After coughing roughly one last time, Rogue stood up straighter, feeling dizzy as she did, but shuck it away and moved over to Magneto.

He looked up to her with those grey eyes of his. Rogue felt herself saddened. They weren't the strong fighting eyes she was used to. Instead they were scared and thankful. The same eyes he had back when he was a little boy; back during WW2. Rogue attempted a small smile, but it wasn't convincing. "Hey." Was all she could think to say.

"Where are we?" Magneto asked.

Rogue looked around too. She didn't actually know. They both turned to look at the farmer. "In the middle of nowhere."

Magneto and Rogue both looked at each other, that didn't help much. "Who is he?" Magneto asked.

Rogue looked back to the farmer then shrugged her shoulders. "Don't know. Just some good desent guy who helped get us away from the sentinals. How you holdin' up?"

Magneto stood up straighter, using the side of the van to steady him. "Better. Much better." Magneto then looked towards the farmer, staring at him.

The farmer looked inbetween the two and got the message. He went to sit inside his truck. Magneto turned back to Rogue. "Why did you come back for me?"

Rogue studied his face. He tried to show no emotion, but she could see he was actually really suprized and kinda touched along side his sadness. He didn't want a sobby answer, yet he set himself up to hearing he was nothng but a tool to her. "'Cause I know what it's like." Was all Rogue could think to say. Her eyes began to wonder anywhere but away from Magneto.

Magneto took her hand in his, squeezing it tight as he said, "Why did you really help me Rogue?"

Rogue shrugged her shoulders. Magneto wrapped a finger around her chin. "Rogue?" He questioned, forcing her to look at him.

Rogue did look into those grey orbs. She was happy to see they were once again starting to relight with fire and passion. Rogue opened her mouth to speak, not knowing what words were going to come out, when both of them turned their heads when they heard a jet engine close by.

Up to the skies they looked and there was the X Jet which landed on the field besides the road they was on. Rogue and Magneto became stiff and on guard. Magneto let go of the van and attempted to stand up without support. But he still felt ill and light headed. Rogue moved her body, noticing this, to moving to his side and letting her body touch his side. Magneto took the hint and leaned on Rogue a little without showing it. Rogue watched from behind Magneto as the X-Men approached them.

The farmer had gotten out of his truck and came to stand besides Rogue too. They all watched as member after member climbed out and headed towards them.

Rogue felt Magneto stiffen along side her as the Professor came in front of them.

"Erik, it is good to see you are no longer a prisoner of Sinister. And Rogue." The Professor paused as he looked her in her eye. He didn't need to read her thoughts to know that she hated him. It was in her eyes. "I think there is a lot of things we need to go over _without_ a fight. Do you agree?"

"Ha, funny." Rogue said with a strong sense of mock in her voice. "Listen Professor, I don't know why ya made em all forget about me, but I'm tellin' ya now, I ain't gonna play your mind games. I ain't interested in you or anything to do with your X-Men. But you obviously want something from us. What do ya want?"

Rogue noticed that Cyclopse's shades glowed red. Rogue moved to stand into a defencive stances. And she also felt Magneto's power as he touched on the metal around them.

"That's enough. This is no time for us to be divided. All of us, all mutants, need to stand together and work together to defeat Sinister and his dyabolical skemes. Rogue, Magneto. We need your help to take down Sinister and you both know you need the X-Men too."

Magneto and Rogue looked to each other, then back to the X-Men. Rogue's eyes moved towards Wolverine who was staring at her with an almost soft look in his firest eye. Rogue looked back to the Professor. "How do we know we can trust you?"

"Huh, that's rich coming from you." Said Cyclopse.

Both Jean and the Professor hushed Cyclopse. "I give you my word-" Started to Professor.

"Your word means nothing to me." Rogue interrupted. The Professor frowned.

"Then what about me Strips? My word good enough for ya?" Rogue looked to Logan and a look of sympathy showed on her face.

"It's not you I have the problem with Logan. It the psychic."

"Then how about this." Said Jean Grey as she stepped forwards. "I'll give you my word to become your personal safeguard and if anything happens, I'll protect you."

"Jean." Said Scott. Jean just put and hand up to Scott to make him stop talking.

"Your too loyal to the Professor. If it was a choice between me and the Professor you would take his side no questions asked."

"This is riducalas Rogue." Said the Professor.

"Perhaps I could offer some light to this subject." Everyone turned to face Magneto and even Rogue was suprized by Magneto helping out the X-Men. He looked down to Rogue and something within his eyes spoke bold trust.

"What do you suppose Erik?" Asked the Professor.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen**

Rogue sat besides Magneto in the X-Jet. Wolverine sat in a chair opposite Rogue. He hadn't stopped watching her. Rogue had meet his eyes, but looked away. Magneto watched this extract play out. He felt the discomfort of Rogue besides him. She might have been sat next to him, but there was a little gap between them, showing her annoance with him. She was annoiced he'd convinced her to work with the X-Men to take down Sinister. There was just one pre stop they were making before they got back to the mansion.

The jet shuck as it came to land. Rogue took off her seat belt at the same time as Magneto and stood up with him. He was still using her for support. Slowly, they left the plane to come and stand in front of a large white mansion (not as big as Xavier's mansion). The gates opened and they all walked towards the front doors, that opened when they got close enough. From behind the doors came a woman with blond hair, cold blue eyes and was dressed from head to toe in revealing white clothes.

"Hello Erik. Charles. What can I do for you?" Asked the woman.

"You know what's going on with Sinister and the Sentials." Said Magneto.

"Of course."

"Emma, we need your help. We need everyone who we can find to help us take down Sinister or else the world in which we live in is going to become a hell for mutants." Said the Professor.

"I was wondering when you was going to ask for my help." Emma looked between all of them, taking in more spesifically, Jean and Scott and Magneto stood very close next to the girl with the white strip in her hair and a very furry man stood close to her. "What exscally do you have in mind?" She asked looking back at Magneto.

XXXXX

Emma had accepted the job to be a mediator between the X-Men, Rogue and Magneto. And the three of them were having a private conversation (psychically) on the X-Jet as they filled Emma Frost up on what had happened between Rogue and the X-Men. She seemed pritty suprized by this. She told Rogue that she understood why she was fearful and agreed that if he was to try and wipe anyone's mind, she would stop it as she didn't want her mind wiped. Rogue could believe it from her stuck up royal attitude.

Wolverine had been watching them carefully as, in little movements and twitches of their faces, they gave away signs of their suprize and shock. He guessed and knew they were privatlly communicating. He didn't like it.

Gasps from the other X-Men brought the four of them back to reality. They looked out the windows and saw the saw thing the others saw.

"The mansion." Scott gasped.

"It's distroyed." Said Jean.

And as it was, the mansion was a pile of rubble. The X-Jet landed and the X-Men searched the grounds, finding dead mutant bodies and finding that some were missing. "Who could have done this?" Asked Storm.

Rogue had to roll her eyes at the stupid question.

"Sinister." Said Magneto. "He waited until the time was right and then he attacked the mansion. Most likely looking for new mutants to lock up and experiment on."

"Some of the children might have got away. They could be safe." Jean tried.

Rogue shuck her head. "No one is safe. Not even us. And we defeatly ain't safe standing around here. So, anywhere else we can go for breifing and action plan?" Rogue said.

The X-Men looked at Rogue and Magneto, hurt by how cold and distant they seemed while over half of the mutant children and X-Men were either dead or missing. With the X-Men in an upset, and Magneto and Rogue with stone faces, they all moved onto the X-Men all took to the skies.

They had agreed to go back to Emma Frost's mansion, but by the time they got there everyone was shocked to see three sentinals ripping down the mansion in search for Emma.

"Get us out of her!" Rogue yelled to Scott who was driving. "Go now before they spot us."

But it was too late. They had been spotted. Scott turned the jet around with the sentianals hot on their tails. Rogue looked out the window, towards the sentianals. "We've gotta destory em before they can send signals to other sentainals, or worse, Sinister telling them where we are. Magneto, do ya think you could-"

Rogue's head shot up as one of the three sentinals had combusted and fell down towards earth. Magneto breathed heavily though, looking tired already. Rogue, making sure her seat beat was on, turned to face Cyclopse. "Haven't you upgraded this thing with weapons yet?"

"We're peaceful Rogue. We don't-" Scott tried explaining.

"Oh yeah, 'cause peacefuls defeatly gonna stop them from ripping out your eyes just to see how your powers work Cyclopse. You need to blast them down, outta the sky and ya need ta do it now. Storm, create a thunder storm or something. Jean, Emma, disable their engines or something. Make them stop!"

None of the X-Men seemed to like Rogue giving orders, but they followed them. Cyclopse gave the controls to the Professor while he and Wolverine walked towards the back of the jet and opened the enterence. Wolverine had been tied to the inside of the X-Jet by strong rope around his waist along with Scott and they both hung outside of the Jet. Wolverine held onto Cyclopse to pull him back just encase his rope snapped and Cyclopse tried blasting the Sentinals out of the sky, but kept missing.

Emma took the left Sentinal and Jean took the right. Both tried to find someway to block the Sentinals signal, or rip them apart from the inside, but they weren't strong enough. Storm's thunder cloud was doing just as much damage to the Sentinals as it was the X-Jet. The X-Jet rocked and Rogue's fear grew. Past memories of when she was last time in a Jet coming back to her. Rogue was suprized as Magneto undid his seat belt and moved towards Cyclopse and Wolverine. Rogue watched as Magneto grabbed a hold of Wolverine and seeing past Wolverine, used his powers to exploded another Sentinal.

The Jet rocked badly again as the explotion was close. The Jet was rocked so had that Magneto, Wolverine and Cyclopse were knocked back inside the Jet and into the other side of the Jet. "Erik." Rogue gasped as he hit the wall. He looked badly hurt.

"One Sentinal left." Called the Professor.

As the Jet began to steady out Rogue eyed all the other X-Men. None of them were getting up to see if they were alright. Rogue looked from them, to the three men layed out on the floor. Rogue undid her seatbelt and was going to move to close the door so nobody fell out.

"It's readying to fire."

The Professor guided the Jet to a swooping left. Rogue had to grab a hold of Emma's seat to stop herself from slamming into the wall. "What are you doing?" Cried Emma.

"Erik's not strapped in. He might fall out the Jet."

Emma looked back to where Magneto and the other two were and using her powers moved the ropes to tie the three of them down to that wall.

The Jet swurved left and Rogue fell back into her seat. Rogue moved to strap herself in again when the Professor yelled, "It's going to hit-"

And just as he said the words the wall besides Rogue blew up from the rocket the Sentinal had sent. There was screams, but none as loud as Rogue's who was thrown back and out of the Jet (again).

"Rogue." Wolverine yelled as the left side of the Jet began to rip apart. As it did though, it created some what of a window for the X-Men to watch the Sentinal abandon it's target of capturing them and went after Rogue who was spining as she fell down to earth. Rogue felt sick as she twisted and wind ran past her. Not again. She thought. Rogue kept her eyes firmly closed as she fell.

Rogue thought she'd hit the ground when she felt a thud and bump as she collided with something. The air still rushed past her though only this time, she didn't feel the window rushing up past her, but swushing down on her. Rogue opened her eyes, wondering why she was still alive when she saw him. This gorgous, baby faced angel. Literally, with Angel wings and dazeling blond hair. One thing that scared Rogue though was he was topless. Rogue wrapped her arms around his neck though and he looked down at her, giving her a soft and kind smile. Rogue wondered why he was saving her, but she smiled back at him.

They both turned their heads though as they looked up at the approaching Sentinal. "What is that thing?" Angel asked.

"Fly." Rogue yelled. Rogue searched the skies to try and find the X-Jet which was falling in reaped speed to earth. "That way!" Rogue yelled, pointing towards the Jet.

Angel listened to her and dived towards the Jet. Rogue looked back to the Sentinal. "Don't let it catch us!" Rogue yelled at Angel. Angel dipped and dived up and down and side to side with Rogue in arms. They missed multipule gun shots from the Sentinal and managed to get just inchies away from the Jet.

Angel dived down, falling along side the falling Jet. Rogue and Angel looked inside the wrecked part of the Jet. Magneto was slowly repairing the Jet, but he wasn't working fast enough.

"Rogue." Multipule X-Men shouted out at her.

"Inside!" Rogue told Angel. Angel did as she said and they landed inside, Angel on top of Rogue, pinning Rogue down to the floor for her safey. Rogue kicked Angel off of on top of her and crawled towards Magneto reaching forwards to grab hold of the chairs and use them to pull herself towards him. It was hard, but she did it. Wolverine reached out and grasped onto Rogue's arm with a steal tight grip. Rogue quickly bit her glove and pulled it off. Reached out and touched Magneto. Rogue cried out in pain as all of Magneto's resent suffereing and torture entered her mind. After a moment of refocusing herself, Rogue turned around in Logan's grip and sealed the side of the Jet just in time for the Professor to get them back up into the air.

Rogue then reached out, finding the Sentinal and ripped it apart from the inside. After there was a faint explotion, Rogue collpased back into Wolverine and passed out.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen**

Rogue turned her head as she slept. Slowly she was starting to wake up, but in the mist of reality and dream, Rogue began having a nightmare. It was a nightmare merged with her torture and experiments in Siniser's labs and Magneto's. And then it fuesed so it wasn't just in Sinister's lab, but it was also Wolverine being experimented on by Weapon X and Magneto in the camps and-

Rogue shot up gasping for breath as she pulled herself out of her nightmare. A hand clasped on her arm too soon and Rogue, still thinking of the worst, reacted, twisting the arm and making a dig in the side on the persons ribs. Wolverine went down to the floor moaning in pain.

"Rogue." Yelled another voice. Rogue looked up away from Logan from where she now stood and at the other X-Men who were now all on their feet and aware of the Rogue's attack.

Seeing them Rogue remembered their deal and released her grip on Logan. Logan coughed a bit, but stood up. Rogue didn't apologe and wasn't planning to. She thought she was going to see anger in Logan's eyes, but instead, she saw some form of amusement. "Glad your still able to defend yourself." Wolverine said.

"Well, these are dark times where to be unprepared is to die." Rogue then looked passed him and at the rest of the X-Men. From what she could tell, they were in some kind of underground metal base. Her eyes were drawn to Magneto who was awake and was the only one not to rise to his feet as Rogue attacked Logan. Now that she thought of him, the hide out became familiar. They were hiding in one of Magneto's hid outs.

"How long have we been here?" Rogue asked the X-Men.

"A few hours." Said Storm.

"How many hours?" Rogue inforced more strongy.

"About five." Jean added.

Rogue nodded her head at Jean, then looked to all of them. "We don't have a lot of time then."

"What do you mean?" Asked Wolverine.

"I mean that Sinister's looking for all of us, or more specifically me, meaning he'll use where we were last to search for us and his robots will find us. We're gonna have to keep moving-"

"Hold on! Who put you in charge?" Scott said, rather irritated.

Rogue glared at him. "I did since I know Sinister better than any of you and I know how he thinks."

"Why's he after you specifically?" Asked Storm.

"Because of my powers. If he gets a hold of me and manages to find a way to manipulate my power, he will use it to better his Sentinals. He'll most likely also find away to make it so the powers my mutantion absorbs last eternally. And when that happens there will be no chance for any mutant to escape. Think about it. He'd be able to give his Sentinals unlimitless powers and he already has a load of mutants locked up and waiting that he could use. All he needs is to catch me and break me."

"Wait, if it's that dangerous for you, then why did you risk getting caught for him?" Wolverine barked, pointing towards Magneto.

"Because most of the mutant camps are made of metal and he controls metal. We need him to get us into the mutant camps." Rogue said looking Magneto in the eye.

Magneto looked some what disapointed, yet sombre. He nodded his head in understanding at last knowing why Rogue had chosen to free him out of all mutants.

"So we're breaking mutants out of jail?" Asked Emma Frost.

"Hold on. We've not gone over what the best plan of action is. We've not decided the pros and cons of-" Cyclopse tried to take control.

"It's not that hard to figure out Cyclopse. One, already a load of mutants have been captured and are being experimented on where Sinister is trying to put their powers into his robots. If he sucessed then all mutants still free are just the walking dead."

"Wait, I thought you said he needed you for that?" Jean added.

"It'll make his life easier and it would speed thing up for him. I'm guessing though that if he was able to give a Sentinal a power it would only be one power, and not multiple. But if he can crack one mutant, other mutants won't be far behind them meaning slower Sentinals will be hard to take down. And from the looks of it y'all need to liven up your game if we're really gonna be working together. WHat happened out there was a disaster. Y'all need to practise taking these things down."

"And what about you? You did nothing except fall out the Jet." Scott yelled at Rogue.

"Ah was in no position to help, yet I still did. You on the other hand had the perfect oprotunity to take the remaining two down on ya own. So did y'all, Storm, Jean and Emma. Ya had a chance and ya below it."

"Oh and what about your beloved Magneto over there? Don't see you pointing the finger at him." Wolverine injected giving Magneto an evil glare.

"Enough all of you. What happened was nobodies fault. They took us by suprize. We was not ready." The Professor said. And Rogue laughed.

Everyone turned to look at her as she laughed a sour laugh. "Are you serious? Are you fucking serious?"

"Hey, no need to take that-" Wolverine tried saying.

"Rogue just shoved his hand off her shoulder and stepped forwards. "No! No, there is means to say it because somehow what I'm explaining and what's going out out there isn't getting in to your leaders thick skull. Y'all don't get it do yas? This ain't one of your little danger room sessions where if you make a mistake you can try again, or you can just turn it on and off whenever you feel like. No! THis, right here and now, is the beginning of a war."

"Rogue-" The Professor tried.

"No Professor!" Rogue barked down at him. "Do not say this is not a war! 'Cause if you do your only fooling yourself. There are mutants out there that are being rounded up, put into cages, tortured and murdered just because they're mutants. Just 'cause this guy Sinister is a mad scientist. This is fight or be killed Professor. This is not a case of just talking to people to get these things to stop 'cause, if you haven't noticed, Sinister ain't asked for permission and he hasn't asked for a long time. Sinister ain't gonna go easy on us just 'cause you say we ai't ready to fight. Sinister is a dirty player and an evil man and y'all better get used to it. This ain't no longer the civil world it was for mutants and humans. Now it's kill or be killed. Do y'all understand me?" Rogue looked around, addressing them all. Some seemed taken back by what she had said. Others were still and held there heads up. Rogue looked at them all until her eyes came back to Xavier who as looking at Rogue with some form of sorrow in his eye. "Do you?"

The Professor was quiet for a moment. Until he meet Rogue's eye and nodded. "This." Xaveir looked to Magneto, comfirming everything Rogue was saying about mutants being tortured and killed. His old friend looked every badly injured and he was. Magneto had a firest look in his eyes as he meet the Professors. "is war." He finished.

Rogue nodded her head knowing that now she had convinced the Professor, the others should follow. Rogue went back to explaining her plan." Knowing Sinister, I wouldn't put it past him to find a mutant with a similar mutantion to mine amoung the mutants he's collecting. For now though he only knows of one mutant that is powerful enough to have more than one power; me. But I'm not taking that chance of if he finds another. So, yes Cyclopse. Were gonna take out some of his camps first, free the mutants and make sure that he doesn't get chance to evolve his Sentinals into something worse. Then we'll go after the man himself. But considering that at the moment no one knows where he is, we'll focus on the stuff we do know and when this team gets bigger, we'll create a smaller group mainly of psychics to search for Sinister. Any one got a problem with that plan."

The X-Men all seemed to put down their heads in agreement to Rogue's plan. All except one. "Yeah, how we going to find these camps?" Cyclopses asked.

"I know where they all are. But what I don't know is which one's are in use and which one's aren't. So we're gonna have to toss a coin or something when we're deciding which camp we're targeting first, 'cause no doubt Sinster would have transformed empty camps into mutant death traps. Oh, another thing I don't know is where his new camps will be and I'm guessing where his new camps are will be where the more powerful mutants are. So we're gonna have to capture some of the head guards at the camps and I'm gonna have to absorb them to see if they know where any of the new camps are. I doubt they'll know though, but it's worth a shot."

Cyclopse nodded his head. Finally giving into Rogue's leadership. Rogue looked passed him towards Magneto who had his eyes shut firmly. He was in pain. "We're also gonna have to find somemore hiding places. Find a santuary for injured mutants until they're ready to fight back with us. Y'all are gonna have to figure that out yourselves. Reach out to any and all mutant connections you have and get in as many doctors and nurses as you can. Any humans that are willing to help mutants are welcome, just as long as we know we can trust them and they won't betray us. Well, what are y'all standing around, starin' at me for. Go do something useful. Go bring me back a map of America where I can draw the camps on or get a undetectable phone you can phone people on. Go on, we haven't got alot of time. Go."

And slowly all the X-Men turned around and started to leave the metal hide out. All except the Professor, Jean Grey and Emma Frost. Jean moved towards Magneto, checking up on his now bandaged wounds. Emma because she was doing her job and the Professor because he couldn't climb the stairs.

"Jean, I'll take care of him. You'll be less of a target on the surface. Y'all go on out and we'll stay here. Oh, and make sure the Jet doesn't have any trackers on it and that we can use it to get to different hide outs." Rogue said.

Jean looked to the Professor, who looked back to her. Jean used her powers to lift the Professor's chair and led him outside, followed by herself shortly after. Rogue looked to the remaining Emma who had a smirk on her face. She looked between the dazed Magneto and Rogue, smirked more, then left.

Rogue turned to face Magneto as she walked closer towards him. Magneto opened his eyes and looked up to Rogue. "Looks like you were right after all. There was a war coming."

Magneto closed his eyes with what seemed to be in blisted. Maybe because someone believed him or because he was finally proven right. "Just because you were right though doesn't make thing any better." Rogue said, turning as she was about to leave him behind in the room.

"I never said I wanted a war Rogue." Magneto called out.

Rogue stopped in her step and looked back at him. "But you did. Now get in that bed and rest." Rogue said, before turning and heading up to the top to get some air.

XXXXX

They were beside a beach and Rogue was stood under a tree looking out at the sea. Rogue was deep in thought about Sinister and thinking about what he might be planning. She was so deep in thought, she didn't here Magneto get close to her. Rogue spun around, grabbing his hand before he touched her shoulder. When she saw it was him though, she loosened her grip then finally dropped it.

"What do you want?"

Magneto looked solm as he looked into Rogue's eyes. In fact, he looked amazed and in awe at her. Rogue felt his gaze relaxing.

"I never thanked you for resueing me from that hell hole. Even if you did just resue me for my powers I am still gratefull for all you've risked."

Rogue nodded her head and looked back out to the gentle tides. It was a nice night. Secretly, Rogue was gleaming of warmth and happiness inside as she hardly did get thanked for anything she did now a days. After a moments passed and Rogue still sensed that Magneto was stood behind her (watching the waves too) Rogue said;'I probably woulda come for ya even if I didn't need your powers... You and the rest of the mutants in that base. I woulda tried to set y'all free if I could."

Magneto stared at the back of Rogue's head, struck by what she had said. He had thoughts in his head which he was sure couldn't be right, but it seemed unlikely all reasonable expliantions made sense.

Rogue's mood from feeling flushed and slightly giddy, turned to depression as she thought of that little girl whos cell she and Magneto had entered when trying to escape. "I woulda tried to save Carol. That little girl who's cell we hid in. She was the farmers daughter... I really wish I coulda done something more to help."

This time Magneto did step forwards and grasp her shoulder to turn her around to face him; taking both shoulders in a tight grasp as he looked down into Rogue's startled green orbs. They were now inchies apart, but Rogue didn't notice this as she looked up into Magneto's fearst eyes. "We will find her Rogue and we will free her and return her to her father. And we'll do it together Rogue. It is not just you who is in debt to this farmer, but me too. We'll free her. And we'll free all the mutants Sinister has under his grasp. We will defeat Sinister and we will take back what was our free and more. I promise you that Rogue. I promise that, until the last breath leaves my body and even then after that, I will keep fighting this war and I will still keep my promise."

Rogue searched his eyes and his persona in her head, but she found no indication to show that he was lieing. Rogue knew Magneto was declaring all of this and making himself a promise (not her) that he'd fight till the end. Still, the fact that he was promising this to her made her feel somewhat special. It warmed her again and soothed her so she was easy in his arms. Easy and relaxed against his chest. Easy and relaxed in her eyes and lips as their faces moved closer and closer together.

"Hey."

Both Magneto and Rogue moved away from each others faces to turn and see the Wolverine stood off in the distance watching them. Slowly they grew more and more apart.

"Shouldn't you two be underground?"

Magneto and Rogue looked to each other before they began heading towards the enterance of the hide out. As Rogue was passing Wolverine though, he grabbed at her arm and pulled her towards him. He was glaring at Magneto who had turned around, noticing Rogue wasn't following him. "Listen Kid, you can't trust that guy. He'll get in your head and twist it. Just stay away from him. He's trouble!'

Rogue looked between Wolverine, Magneto then back to Wolverine.

"I can take care of myself." Rogue snapped taking back her arm as she plowed past the Wolverine and Magneto back into the underground base.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter Twenty**

Rogue and Magneto had quickly become bored sitting back and watching the X-Men work. They had moved from the small hide out Magneto had to a much bigger hide out Magneto had. The one which they were currently staying in now was to be the hospital. Rogue and Magneto had had to push ahead and plow past the X-Men just to help out setting up the beds. Apparently, the X-Men didn't trust them enough to line up beds. Magneto and Rogue stayed closer together while the other X-Men ventured around the world, gathering mutants and bringing them back to Magneto's hiding place. Magneto ad Rogue had turned to playing numious games of chest.

"I do not appreshiate being treated like a prisoner in my own hidden base." Magneto said over one of the games.

Rogue looked up to him, understanding excally what he meant. Then she looked out towards the quiet gant metal room filled with hospital beds. "They're gonna have to trust us at one point. Trust me to tell them where the bases are and trust you to get them enterence to the camps."

"Till then they keep us to the side so we cannot interfer or do anything that may betrey them." Magneto grimaced.

"Well, to be fair, they do have a good point for you to be on the side lines. Your recovering and quite fast I amight add. They need you ready for war and stress." Rogue said, moving one of her pieces.

"True." Magneto said moving one of his pieces.

Rogue gave somewhat of a unlady like snort. "They've got nothing on me though. They just don't trust me. Most likely think I'm gonna attack them again."

"I thought it was they who attacked you?" Magneto asked, raising his eyebrow.

Rogue didn't meet his eyes. "I tried to get them all to listen, but when they didn't I got angry and I might have thrown the first punch, but they retaliated. Out numbering me and almost killing me. The fight between us just got worse as I hit as hard as I got. They were and still it seems pritty pissed off at me. I think they even trust you more than they trust me and that's saying something."

And Magneto chuckled at this. "Indeed. I must say, it does make a change. But the X-Men will soon come around to us when they rediscover they need us. And then my dear, they'll be at our mercy and they will be on the side lines watching. This time and place is no place for people like them. People who are not willing to kill in cold blood to survive and win this war."

Rogue breathed in and out deeply. She knew what Magneto spoke was the truth, but just because she hated the X-Men didn't mean she wanted them to die. Maybe she was just getting soft being around them. Rogue looked down to her pieces thinking long and hard about how to get to the king and how to take him down. The other pieces did get jobs done and slowly got her closer to the king, but it was taking too long. Drawing out unnessery wasted time. Rogue looked down to her king and poundered how she, as the king could take down the enimy king. She would first need to track the enimy kings movements, waiting for the perfect moment when he'd be alone. When he was alone and defenceless, then she could move in. Bingo! It all then began clicking in Rogue's mind as she looked at the chest pieces. She kept a straight face, but inside she had a cunning smirk on her face. Rogue made her move, lauring Magneto's queen out and then Rogue moved in for the kill. "Check mate." Rogue said as a smile grew visable on her face. Chest was a great game for plotting strategys to win the war and was very practical too, as Rogue noticed another use in her movements of how they could make her win.

Magneto watched Rogue smile. He raised his eyebrow finding it amusing as there seemed to be a flicker of cunningness at the edge of her lips. He watched as Rogue looked over all the pieces again as if she was plotting her next move. But Magneto had stopped playing a while ago. He knew he was beaten and there was no more moves to make.

Rogue finally looked up, catching him watching her. Rogue wasn't sure about what to think about him watching her. She guessed he'd figured out what she was thinking of, but for some reason, she didn't think that was what he was thinking about. It was the soft look in his eye and that little flick of amusement at the edge of his lips. Rogue found it rather strange that he was watching her intensely, but looked down again to the chest bored; staring mostly at the two kings. From then, she looked over to the clusters of other pieces that just didn't seem as important. But they was. And they was to her. Rogue stared at one piece in particular as it reminded her of something, or more someone.

Magneto was dissapointed as Rogue's smile left her face. "How many of us do you think will die trying to stop Sinister?" Rogue asked, a touch of sorrow in her voice.

Magneto frowned too. "A great many of us. But it will all be worth fighting for in the end."

Rogue looked up to Magneto then. Her eyes cold and hurt. He didn't understand why he was seeing hurt in them. "Do you included yourself in those deaths?"

"No. But I am not affaird to die my dear. I welcome it. I welcome the peace of death. However, I will fight to stay alive and to see that our war is won. If I die before I see victory for mutants, then I will have no regreats as I frought and helped contribute to winning the war." Magneto said macanically.

Rogue noticed that he had detached himself from emotion on the topic of death. She understood. But she could still feel his emotion and passion behind his views of death. "No regreats?"

Magneto looked depressed by Rogue bringing these topics up. Magneto knew she knew the answers to these questions she was asking him, or she could find out if she wanted to. "Perhaps a few." Rogue sat quietly waiting. Magneto shuck his head.

"You won't tell me your regreats?"

"I do not see how dewelling on the past will help our future."

"But don't you ever think of how ya can make up for those regreats?"

Magneto sat back. "Every day. Though some I cannot better."

"Like what?"

Magneto eyed his black queen. "I've had many lovers in my past time. All of those loves had different reasons why they ended, however the most common and most powerful reason was that my cause was more important than them."

Rogue nodded her head, understanding why he was so commited to mutant's having freedom. "None of them understood why you were so stubbon and focused on this war. None of them saw that it was passion, not madness."

Magneto nodded his head. "All, but one. Mystique. However, we were always on and off. Both having different lovers and different goals in our lifes to forfill. At the begining, we may have even been in love, but as time went on we grew a part and affection for one another was all we had. Now she's dead. She died for a cause she believed in with no regreats. And if she did have regreats, then none of them would matter as she had lived for the purpose she was born for."

Rogue nodded her head. and sat back. "Tell me, is there anything you would like to do before we die. Before, the possibility that we may die?"

Magneto never looked away from Rogue's eyes. "I would like to live through this war and see mutants living in peace. Helping one another and not living in fear. Not being hunted down and killed just because they're different. I would like nothing more than to help rebuild a whole. How about youself, dear Rogue? Do you have any regreats? Any dreams for the future?"

Rogue looked away from Magento. She shouldn't let him in, but he had opened up to her willingly. Rogue breathed in deeply and sighed. "I guess... Well, I wish I had dumbed my ex and kicked his arse the first time I saw him with another woman. But, I guess the one thing I do regreat is not learning how to control my powers before all this happened. Not being as determined to try and learn to control them. Maybe a lot of bad things wouldn't have happened to me if I had control. I understand what you mean though. As soon as I was taken... Taking down Sinister just became the biggest goal in my life. Is the biggest goal in my life. After he's dead... I don't know what I'll do. I don't know what I'll be looking forward to... Maybe, if your right and mutant kind does rebuild itself I might join in helping those who most need it."

Magneto nodded his head. "Help those who have been abandoned and abused like yourself. I can see you making a childs world by helping them find a mutant family that will take them and accept them as their own child." Magneto saw that Rogue still looked rather unhappy as she stared at the chest bored. "What is it that's bothering you?"

Rogue looked up to him. Silent for a moment. "So after going to war, losing a lot of good and close firends, winning it, and freeing a lot of mutants, we'll still end up giving up our own lifes to serve the people we saved. Tell me Magneto, when do we get to enjoy our own lifes?"

Magneto had a solm look on his face. He leaned forwards and took Rogue's hand in his. "Rogue, first to enjoy your own life you need to know what you want to do. Do you know what you want to do?"

Magneto watched as Rogue's defences went down and he saw the look of lose on her face. "I...Before I was kicked out of the mansion, I was thinking of staying at the mansion and taking a degree in law. I wasn't too sure what I wanted to be after that, but the Professor did make it interesting. He seemed to have a good view on justice, but... You know what he did. Besides, I can't imagine myself being anywhere; not now and not after the war. The one place I was happy at will never be the same again."

"You could have a home again,Rogue. Any home you wanted."

Rogue shuck her head. "What's a home without love? Without protection. After everything I've been through, after everything you've been through, you should understand I can never have a home again. The home I did have was taken away from me."

"Indeed, I do understand how you are feeling Rogue, but it'll be a new world which we will be entering. A new world where new allances will be made and I'm sure, Rogue, that you will be able to find a home in our new world and that you'll be able to do a law degree if that is what you want."

"A new world... In this new world Erik, will you make up for past regreats?"

"Surposibly."

"And in this new world, will you make yourself a home? With people who you love and trust, and them you?"

"If not with them, then I will live without them. And I will live easier knowing the world will be a better place."

"And will you follow your hopes? Your dreams? Your plans of what you want for yourself."

"Yes."

"Why not start now?"

"You know why-"

"The war comes first."

"Yes, and things will be different then from what they are now. Friends will be lost, new ones will be made and relationships will change."

"Relationships will change, huh." Rogue pulled her hand away from Magneto's and stood up. Rogue kept eye contact with Magneto as she elegantly moved around the table. Magneto was confused to what she was came to stand in front of him, moving her knee inbetween the gap between his legs and balanced herself on his thigh. Her hands landed on his shoulders and moved up towards his face. "Guess I best do this now then." And Rogue moved in and planted a cherub kiss on Magneto's lips. It was just a gentle touching of lips at first. When Rogue opened her eyes she saw Magneto's were filled with wonder and admiration. Her gentle breathing tickled his chin as she was so close. It felt beautiful to have such a wonderous creature this close to him. Magneto lifted his hand to bury in Rogue's hair, his other hand moved to hold the side of her face, rubbing her check with his thumb. Rogue took these signs as acceptance of her and admitance to him actually liking her back. Rogue had been a little nervious doing this, but with the talk of them dieing and regreats, this was one thing she wouldn't have regreated, even if he had rejected her. Rogue moved her hands to the side of his face too and moved down to plant another cherub kiss on his lips, only this time he held the kiss longer by sucking on her bottom lip. Rogue felt small bits of him entering her and moved away. From what she'd learnt with Bobby, long kisses were bad. Doing this was bad for him. As she moved away, Magneto rejected the idea of her being scared of her powers and made the move to kiss her. Rogue did kiss him back, but she pulled away, having just absorbed a thought of his that was important.

"This doesn't change anything between us! The war comes first. If it means killing you to win it, then I won't think twice about it. Do you understand?" Rogue asked.

Magneto nodded his head.

They both moved in for another kiss and as they kissed, they heard a growl and clear of throat. They came apart, not having to look to see who it was as the growl made it obvious who it was. Rogue saw how her powers had effected Magneto. He looked tired. Not looking away from him, Rogue stood up in front of him, staying there for a moment as they looked at each others solm face. Then, finally, Rogue turned and walked towards the door where Wolverine was stood cleching his fists at his side. His anger was clear on his face and he shot Rogue a look of anger, and worse, a look of betreyal.

Rogue felt a sting of pain as she looked at Wolverine. But she kept a stone face as she passed him. She wouldn't show how having hurt Wolverine to the point where now he now could never look at her the same way, hurt her. But she didn't regreat kissing Magneto. Wolverine watched her leave out of the corner of his eye. When she left he glared at Magneto.

"You stay out of her head!"

Magneto stood up. "I have done nothing to her Wolverine." He then turned to look at Wolverine, wanting to see his reaction as he said, "She decided to kiss me of her own freewill with no infulence from me." Magneto watched with satisfact as Wolverine's eyes kept expanding with anger and rage. "What's wrong Wolverine? Are you sour because she kissed me, the man that once killed her instead of the man who saved her life. Or is it because you missed your chance with her, the girl who you love?"

Wolverine was in a berserker rage and about to run at Magneto when he felt the uncomfortable touch of Magneto controling his body. Magneto began tutting at Wolverine. "Now, now Wolverine. You can't win every war." Saying this, he looked to the chestbored and knocked over his defeated black king. As Magneto came to look back at Wolverine this time there wasn't just a gleamer of amusement, but cunningness. "Your biggest mistake was chasing after another woman when you should have been chasing after her." Magneto walked towards Wolverine with his hands behind his back and shoulder back. Stopping besides Wolverine, Magneto said, "If you wanted her, you should have told her when you had the chance." Magneto left the room.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter Twenty-One**

Wolverine had come to get Rogue and Magneto and tell them that a meeting was starting which they should be in it. Both Rogue and Magneto made their way towards the main room in their own time. Rogue was the last to step into the room. All eyes were on her as she stepped in. Magneto's and the Wolverine's included. Magneto looked normally at Rogue as he always had (no emotion showing in those pale eyes of his), but Rogue could see the hatred and anger in Wolverine's eyes. She was lucky he wasn't lashing out at her with that glare.

With Rogue in the room, the Professor led the meeting. "I'll start off this gathering by congradulating my X-Men on working quickly and hard on reaching out to those of you who are new faces and those who are old friends."

"This isn't a time for congradulating little acomplishments, Charles. This is a time for planning for war. There will be plenty of time to give praise after." Magneto said, rather bored and iritated.

"Not if you don't make it through this war." Wolverine growled out at Magneto.

Magneto turned, eyeing Wolverine with amusement in his eye. Rogue watched to two and found herself iritated. She knew there had always been this fued between the two ever since they meet, but this time she had a feeling she knew what it was over. Rogue felt bad knowing she'd hurt Wolverine, but at the same time she didn't regreat kissing Magneto and she didn't care he'd seen. If anything, Rogue felt like telling Wolverine, tough. He didn't like her the same way she'd liked him, he couldn't stop her from... Well, she didn't think she liked Magneto. Not in that way. But there was just something about him. Something that got to her. Maybe it was because he remembered her or that he believed her, but for some reason what happened happened. She felt how she felt, but she was done with it. Done with the feelings. She had an idea, knew what was coming and she knew that getting close to anyone right now would only do harm. Besides, they weren't getting on well before they all came together, why start now?

"That's enough Wolverine. " Said the Professor.

"He's right Charles. Some of us might not be coming back." Said Magneto.

"Perhaps, which is all the more reason to show the appershiation that everyone here has brought. Now, I believe there is a gender for us all meeting here and I would like to focus on the main points. We all know that with a dead president," Everyone's eyes turned to Rogue. Rogue just shuch them off like they were nothing, "it means there is no authority figure for this country to led and to defeat mutants from these new robots which are being called Sentianals."

"Ha, not like there'd be any help for mutants even if the president was alive." Rogue muttered.

"Rogue." Warned the Professor. Rogue looked up from the wooden table that had a hug map of America on it to look the Professor in the eye.

"It's the truth. The president was a mutant hater and was fueding the inventor of the Sentinals to wipe us out, only Sinster has other plans." Rogue said with a sharp whip of hate and disguest at the end of her tongue.

"You seem to know a lot about this man, erm, Sinister. How, may I ask?" Spoke Beast.

All were silent and eger to know the answer to Beast's question. Rogue looked from Beast to Magneto who she'd recently saved from her past horrors. He was the only one not looking at her. He was looking down at the table, a bit pale. Rogue felt a bit sink thinking of the place. Magneto had only been in there a few days were she had been in there longer. Rogue wasn't sure if she could revisit that place. Not for a third time. Rogue looked to Wolverine seeing him leaning against the wall, still with that cocky anger look on his face. Everyone else just had bewildered faces, including the Professor. Looking at the Professor, Rogue's anger sparked as she remembered who's fault it was she had left the mansion and had to suffer under that man's hand. Through that anger and spit towards the Professor for kicking her out Rogue was able to tell her story.

"After you kicked me out, and y'all chased me away, I started travelling on the road. I had no idea where I was heading or what I was doing, but I thought I'd try heading back down south, then maybe up to Canada if there was nothing left for me there. But when I was traveling, I noticed I wasn't alone. I was being hunted. One night the hunters, Sinister's men, The Nasty Boys, tried corning me. I was ready for them that time and managed to escape them. I escaped may times, but one night they caught me off guard and knocked me down till I was unconsious." Rogue paused, listening the the deadly silence in the room and basking in it. She felt horrible.

"Rogue, you don't have to explain yourself if you don't wish to." Magneto said in a calm tone. Rogue looked up to him. It had taken a lot to tell him. He had been more comforting than this silence.

"Yes, she does!" Inforced Cyclopse.

"Scott, leave her be." Said Jean.

"For once I agree with one eye, spit it out strips!" Growled Wolverine.

Rogue saw how Jean seemed to be slowly loosing her cool as her eyes appeared to turn red as she glared from Cyclopse to Wolverine. Rogue didn't find being under pressure making it easier for her. Instead, she looked to the Professor to see if he would push her into telling her story.

The Professor was looking straight at her, a look of sympathy in his eyes that just seemed to get more sympathic. Rogue was puzzled by this reaction. Then she felt something like a twang of emotion that didn't feel like her own. Why did he look like he cared that she'd been kicked out and hunted down like a wild animal? Rogue's eyes widened as she turned to Emma.

"_Stop him from reading my mind!_" Rogue told Emma through a mental connection.

Emma looked startled, then looked from Rogue's face, to the Professors, then back to stared at Rogue confused. "_Rogue, he isn't in your mind_." Emma replied.

"Rogue." Rogue turned around to look at Storm besides her. Storm placed a hand on her shoulder. "Child, I understand you don't trust any of us in this room and opening up about our past troubles can be hard. But if there's anything you can tell us which can help us defeat Sinister, then we will all be every greatful." Storm said.

Storm was the same old; calm, kind and sweet to the very end. Rogue looked around the room once again, taking in everyone's face til finally she came to look at the Professor again. "Y'all wanna know how I know so much about Sinister, dontcha. Ya wanna know if y'all can trust me. Well guess what. I don't know if I can trust any of you lot, so this is how it's gonna go down. I ain't tell you people no more till I get good reason why I should trust y'all."

Wolverine slammed his fist down on the table. "This is insane. We're going to war and need every bit of information we can get! Only your dumb enough and selfish enough to not trust us? How pety! There are lives at state here. Get over yourself and start-"

"How's about we start talkin' about you then, Wolverine? Hum, how's Weapon X? Found anything out from your past yet? Figured out that you were an assassin who used to kill and abdouct mutants for the Weapon X programme sometimes? Hmmm? How's about we talk about those metal claws of your and how you really came to-"

"Why you-" Wolverine started.

"Enough! Both of you!" Cried the Professor. "She's right Wolverine. She has no reason to trust us. I... I know I have not wiped anyone's memories of Rogue, even if she says I have; even my own. But, at the same time, we are all strangers to each other with preduices against each other. To be able to...win this war." The Professor said while looking up to Magneto who had somewhat of a smug look on his face. "We must put our preduices aside and look to what is really important. Rogue, if you please. Tell us all you can."

Rogue raised her eyebrow. The Professor sounded so... believable. But he was a psychic and a good one at that so he must be good. Rogue pushed it aside, still feeling as if there was another presence in her mind. Rogue looked to Emma, whom was still staring at Rogue with an rather confused look about her. Rogue looked back to the Professor, whom looked schemeing with his hands together like that and leaning forward, staring at her too. He scared her. But not as much as the memories in her head. Rogue turned to look at Magneto, whom had a soft look to his face.

"I won't go into detail, but basically..." Rogue looked away, down to her feet." I got captured by the Naughty Boys, taken to one of Sinister's camps, experimented on for days on end, then, finally escaped... I...There was this explotion and... And I think there was a raid going on and... I got free during that." Magneto raised his eyebrow at this. Something about those events seemed to add up in his head.

"I went to go find Sinister and I found him where I thought I'd find him. In his office, yelling at people and trying to regain control of his camp and also escape. His people left him, and then he was just about to turn and leave. I jumped out from the shadows where I was hidden, hell bent on rage to kill him with my bare hands. I'd gotten off my collar and could use my powers again, so I ran at him, jumped on his back and just started punching him. I punched him and punched him till I started to absorb large parts of his mind... He managed to use my weak areas and lack of fighting skills to kick me off him and out a window. I don't think he planned to kick me out of a window, but he did and I landed hard on the ground below. I saw him looking out of the window, down at me t check if I was OK, and I was. I was in pain, but I rolled around, got up and ran. Ran like hell was on my tail so I could just get away from that mad man and his mad camp. I ran thinking that I could run away from him in my mind too, but that was it. I made the biggest mistake of my life that day. I absorb that creepy basterd and now he's forever apart of me and stuck in my head." Rogue's hands had gone pale white from how hard her fists were. Anger and hot tears coloured her eyes in. All in the room were shocked, yet moved by the Rogue's story.

"The advantage though, which I still do really hate is that I got Sinister's ideas and his plans in my head. I knew what he was thinking, what he was going to do and best of all I know how he thinks, so I can prodict his moves better than anyone else can. From his mind, I learned about the president and I learnd that he was a mutant hater who gave Sinister money to capture mutants and experiment on them. Ha, he was actually planning to set up a unit called the MRD to find and take down mutants that were supposibly '_too powerful_' or '_too much_' of a '_menis_' to be out on the streets livin' normal lives. The president was a horrible person who was putting hundreds of mutants to death while he was supplying Sinister money for his stupid camps. So, during the first two weeks of being free, I knew what I had to do to hender Sinister helpless, which was kill the man who was supplying him. Only, I didn't realise he'd apply for president. It's not like he's got a qualification or nothin' to be president and it wasn't in his mind at the time, so I never saw it coming. Then the rest, you guys know about me I guess."

There was silence in the room. Magneto's fists were white as he figured out what it was that made something tick in his mind. Around the same time Rogue escaped was around the same time he ordered Pyro to take out that base. If he had of gone with Pyro and taken it down with him, he would have been able to find Sinister and kill him so none of this would of had to happened. Magneto felt enraged with himself for being such a fool.

"Thank you Rogue. Thank you for being so open with us." Said the Professor, trying to retake control again.

"Oh, I ain't done just yet Professor." Rogue looked down to the map on the table in front of her. It was a clear map of America for them all to look at, but as Rogue looked at it, she saw little red crosses on the map which located where Sinister's camps were. In her minds eye, she pictured chest pieces upon the map too. All in the exsacte same place they had been in when her game with Magneto had ended. She knew what to do. "See, I'm gonna tell y'all how to take down Sinister once and for all."


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter Twenty-Two**

Rogue had stood by and watched them all leave. It had been hard to get them all around to agree to her plan, but she'd done and said whatever it took to get them to do as she needed. In the end she had gotten her own way.

Now it was time for Rogue to bored the X-Jet with all the others. Their numbers had grown a little, but they needed more, Rogue knew. So, she had planned three prison breaks and splite the team into three. They dropped off the first team at the first base, the second team at the second base and Rogue stayed on the plan as it travelled the furthest to the last camp they were going to hit tonight. Rogue had told them all there was a possibility that the camps would be empty and there would be no mutants in the cells and if that was the case then they were to dodge all the traps and blow up the building. Rogue had gone through all the buildings hiding places, traps and also all that she didn't know about the bases. They were all to attack at the same time. And all were to get back in there own way. The last group had the X-Jet, the second group had a lot of teleports and other talented mutants who were good at escaping. They would be able to hold off until the X-Jet got there to pick them the last group, which had been the biggest, had planned to keep half their members outside that could attack the building long range and get the others out of there safely and quickly. They also had a truck which Wolverine was drinking up to that base which would be their escape wagon.

Rogue looked over her last group. She wasn't expecting where they were going to be full of mutants, but guards that might be able to give up information. On her team was Magneto, Jean Grey, and Cyclopse. The Professor and Emma were with one of the two other groups so they could all keep in contact with each other and, Rogue had told them, to use their mind reading skills on the higher up guards to learn more about where other camps were. Rogue didn't want to give them much to make them think they were in control though and told them that even after they got the information it would be useless as Sinister will rearrange the camps and move prisoners. They did ask what the point was but Rogue had said any bit of information would help and it would (help her). Rogue was playing a very very dangerous game. Not only playing Sinister's games and war, but also playing with the X-Men. Rogue had to be very very careful of very thing that was happening.

Rogue looked over to Magneto. She wondered if what she was doing was right. There was a reason she knew this camp would be empty and she wondered if he was ready for this

Rogue jolted as she felt a sudden flash of pain in her head.

"Are you alright?" Asked Magneto from besides her. He had noticed Rogue had been distant and in deep thought, and he'd also noticed her flinch.

Rogue opened her eyes and looked up at him. She nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just...the voices in my head have started to play up for some reason. It was the truth, the voices in Rogue's head were beginning to yell at her all at once, but she didn't understand why or what they were saying. She'd been able to keep them quiet so far, why were they playing up now? This headache went on for a long time.

"We're here." Said Cyclopse, whom was driving the plan.

Cyclopse landed the Jet were Rogue had told him to and she were undetected. When they got out of the Jet, Rogue led the way into the forest. Rogue kept her eye on Magneto, waiting for any sort of reaction. Rogue was just about to move forwards when Jean said, "Stop, there are people ahead."

They all stopped. Rogue looked to Jean then looked back to the trees and bushes that were blocking their view. This was the only way Rogue knew into the base that wouldn't be undetected. Sinister must have figured out her game plan and prepared for her. Rogue told the others to wait as she crouched down and peeked through the bushes to see that there were about three guards outside, surrounding the grid. Rogue tried to think like Sinister. These were only three guards that could be taken down easily. He must have had some other tricks up his sleeve. Rogue looked around and spotted Sinister's trick.

"Magneto, there are camera's in the trees. They're most likely recording the guards and if anything happens to them, the people watching them will set off an alarm."

"Oh great, so how'd we get in now then?" Asked Cyclopse.

Rogue looked from one to the other and thought of the only thing that would lessen the attention of them entering this side. "We're gonna need a distraction."

XXXXX

Rogue had had to alter her plans, but not by much. Cyclopse and Jean were to wait for the signal and then they were to take out the guards and the camera's which Magneto had pointed out all considering they were metal and meta; was his thing. After that they were to enter, being careful to take out all the guards they saw and to go free the prisoners. Rogue had told them the directions and said that her and Magneto would be joining them soon. Which she planned to. Her original plan was that it be Cyclopse and Magneto to make this distraction, only she didn't know they would be together and she had an idea what was coming with Magneto. And when that time came, she wasn't sure how she was going to handle the situation herself.

Rogue looked back to Magneto. He was eyeing up the base, strangly. "You OK, sugar?" Rogue asked.

He looked at Rogue as if he'd only just noticed her. "I'm perfectly fine my dear. Ready."

Rogue shuck her head as she saw his posture change and saw that he was readying himself.

"OK then, let's do our bit." Rogue looked around at all the metal fences and doors around the building. She smiled, deviously. "Tell me Erik, just how much metal can you feel here?"

Magneto grinned back at her. "My dear, I do believe you are forming an evil side."

"Perhaps. But I'm not the one going to create a evil monster. Whenever, your ready Erik. Let loose."

Magneto stepped forwards, in front of Rogue and took it all in. Took in the music of the metal and it's melody. He felt it all under his grasp, closing his eyes and listening to it was like heaven. So when he opened his eyes, he changed that melody to hell. Twisting and pulling at the metal, all that he could feel and molding it together so that it formed a gigantic metal beast that towered high over the base and the trees. The guards trembiled in fear as their guns left their hands and they were faced with destruction. The metal monster just kept growing and growing the closer it got to the base. Magneto had designed the monster to look like a man, with two legs, two arms and a head.

Rogue smiled wildly at the monster as it stomped forwards and with one big step, crushed the enterance to the base in one go. Rogue began laughing as the monster swung it's arms and knocked down more of the building. There was their enterance. Rogue looked to Magneto and saw for the first time that he looked tired. The control over the monster was taking a lot out of him. Rogue came towards him, seeing him sweat. He wouldn't be able to keep this up for much longer. Rogue reevaluated their situation. They had been spotted and now the guards were running towards them with plastic guns and, what Rogue feared most, plastic collars.

Magneto fell onto one knee and Rogue knew they were in trouble. He couldn't see the soliders running up hill towards them and he couldn't see that his monster was slowing down. If Magneto didn't do something soon, then they were both going to get collars around their necks and sent back inside.

Rogue did the only thing she could think of. She ran forwards, taking off her gloves and touched Magneto. It hurt only a little. Magneto collapsed and Rogue now had full control over the metal beast which had stopped and frozen. Using Magneto's powers, Rogue made the beast turn around and walk towards them. She could feel how hard it was to keep control of this beast. It felt like there was a car above her head and she was trying to push it up to stop her from falling on her. The pressure was too much to handle without a break.

Rogue paniced as she saw the beast wouldn't make it to them in time. She had to think and think fast. But apparently, she didn't have to think so hard as Magneto had seen the same danger she had and using what little strengh he had, pulled parts of the metal monster away and sent mental gun and doors flying at the soliders; killing them as the metal sliced through them.

Rogue still kept the monster coming towards them though. It was no longer safe where they were. They needed to escape and get out of range. Rogue tried to control the monster which was getting heavier and heavier until she made it get close enough, it got down onto one knee and moved it's hand out towards them. Rogue fell to her knees, too tired to keep control of the beast for any longer.

"Come on my dear. No turning back now." Magneto said, as he came to Rogue's aid. He took Rogue by the waist and hand and guided her ontop the metal monsters hand. Magneto retook over his monster, making it turn and return back to the base.

"Jean..." Rogue tried saying, but found herself breathless. "Jean and Cyclopse should be inside by now. We... We should join them."

"Agreed." Magneto said.

He was getting tired again, Rogue saw, but she knew she couldn't drain him again. Not yet. She wouldn't be able to carry him and take down all these soliders on her own. Magneto, however, managed to get them to the heart of the base without too much trouble. He made the monster put them down on the floor and cover them, forming a large metal dome around them to protect themselfves.

"Come on." Rogue said, as she came to Magneto's side. She took his arm, wrapping it around her neck and lead him down the stairs which led to the cells and they moved quickly, coming across layed out bodies which they guessed were Jean's and Cyclopse's doing. Soon they reached the cells to find half the mutants were already out. Rogue looked to Magneto as he looked around wided eyed. She saw that now he realised where they were. Rogue put Magneto down against a wall and told him, "I'll come back for ya." He looked to her, and she saw that lost little boy from back during World War 2. The scared little boy who didn't understand what was going on and why he was being treated so badly. Rogue looked down at him, symperthicly, gently stroking his check. The quick absorbtion of her powers kicked in and made him weaker. He seemed to relax and calm a little under her touch. She didn't want to see him in pain, but she knew that he'd want to be the one to bring this camp down just as she wanted to be the one to bring down the camp that inslaved her and the man wo totured her. She understood his pain.

She left Magneto by the door as she turned and went straight down the hallway to one spersific door. Rogue forced it open using Magneto's powers and looked inside. There was the colourful girl she and Magneto had saw when they hid in her cell. Rogue gave a light hearted smile towards the little girl. She was in the same position as last time. Shaking in the corner of her room. Rogue approached her and knelt down in front of her. "Hey there sweetie. You're name wouldn't happen to be Jen, would it?" The little girl nodded her head and Rogue's smile grew kinder. "Well then Jen. How's 'bout we get you reunited with your papa, huh? He's been lookin' all over for ya, never stopping till he finds ya. So, you ready to go?"

The little girl's eyes exploded and her breath got heavier. It was an awkward smile she gave Rogue, but when she jumped forwards into Rogue's arms, Rogue saw the little girl couldn't be happier to escape this hell whole. Rogue lifted the girl up in her arms, telling her to be careful not to touch her skin as she left the cell.

When Rogue came out of the cell she was suprized and rather pleased to see that Magneto had recollected himself and had saved them time by opening up all the cells. Rogue looked to Magneto and smiled. He looked like a man on a mission with his fire relit. Rogue couldn't be happier to see that determination and fighting spirit which she thought had left Magneto for a while why they had been at the base.

Jean and Cyclopse finished gathering up all the badly injuried mutants and they all left, heading towards the tunnel Jean and Cyclopse had come down out of. Only, as they all arrived at the ladders and mutants began climbing up them, Rogue saw that Magneto wasn't with them. She looked around, panicking. Where was he? Rogue moved to Jean, giving the little girl over. "Jean, have Cyclopse go up top and make sure it's safe first before any other mutant. They don't have their powers to fight like we do. Here, take care of this one. I'll be back Jen. I just gotta go find Magneto."

Jean nodded and watched Rogue run off down the corridor. Rogue was running back towards the way she and Magneto had come in, when she noticed that there was another hallway she could take. Te doors had been ripped down and she guessed that that was the way Magneto had gone. Rogue ran down that corridor, following all the destoried doors and dead guards until she finally came to where Magneto had come. To the experiment room.

Rogue was just in time to watch Magneto cut the doctors head off with one of his own surgery tools. Rogue looked around the room seeing dead bodies everywhere, until her eyes came to the table with a mutant boy strapped down to it. He was crying and looked in pain. Rogue moved towards the child, unstrapping him and picking him up, warning him too not to touch her skin. She turned to see where Magneto had got to to see that he was on the Doctor's computer. A file came up on the huge screen and it had a picture of him on it with all the information they had found out about him besides it.

"Erik?" Rogue called in a gentle voice, but Magneto was enragged. He slammed his fists down on the computer and it burst into flames. Magneto destoried the computer with his bare hands after that, physically ripping the machine apart. Rogue causiouly moved towards him, slowly placing her hand on his shoulder. "Erik." She called again.

He stopped under her touch. Falling to his knees, defeated and tired. "Erik." Rogue called again.

He held up his hand to silence her. "I am alright. Go, escape with the others."

"Erik-"

"Go!" He yelled.

"Erik, where's the lab where they keep all the mutant DNA?" Rogue said. Seeing the computer made her remember what she had forgotten and now she was determined to distroy every mutant file here they had.

Magneto looked up to her, a dangerous spark in his eye. He got up off his knees and marched forwards, passing through the untouched doors in the experiments room and into the next room which held all of the medical files. Apparently that wasn't all it held. As Magneto's eyes searched the shelves, he saw it. Rogue watched from behind Magneto as he was reunited with one thing he'd openly admit he loved. His red helmet. He reached out for it with his powers and brought it back to him. He'd missed his helmet. Magneto took his time, enjoying the weight of the thing as he placed it upon his head. Then his inner rage came out once again. Rogue watched as Magneto destroyed every last one of those files by ripping down the metal shelves and somehow setting them on fire. It must have been mixed chemicals that started the fire.

When he was finished, Rogue saw how tired he felt all his emotions as well. Magneto might of thought he looked weak being down on his knees, tired from all his hard work, but she saw the strongest man she had ever meet in her life. She admired this man. Magneto looked up to Rogue from where he knelt, not feeling inferiour of her seeing him weak on his hands and knees. But he felt her. He felt her strengh and her belief in him and her admiration. When he looked to her, seeing her somehow helped him. And it did, some how. It made him feel... Safe. Protected. Calm. Warm. Loved. Magneto felt that he could be the most beaten down man on this planet, yet, if he looked to Rogue, she'd still see him as the same strong man she knew he was standing tall in front of her. Seeing her and having her with him was something he wasn't going to take for granted.

Then Magneto watched as the person who had been the one to make him feel this strong and good about himself went down, screaming in pain. A solider or a few had found them and shot Rogue from behind when they saw her standing in the door way. They shot her in the lower gut and Rogue fell forwards screaming in pain.

Magneto's rage exploded. Magneto grasped onto any metal he could and throw it at the soliders, chopping them all into little pieces. Magneto came to Rogue's side, turning her over on to her back. She still had hold of the child who was unharmed, but had been knocked out as his head had hit the floor. Rogue's face was twisting in pain. "That the boy!" She said to Magneto. He looked from the boy who was unharmed by the gun shot to Rogue who was bleeding heavily. "Take him!" She screamed at Magneto as she pushed the boy towards him.

Magneto had to make a decision. Magneto pushed the boy back down onto Rogue's chest, then, moved his arms under Rogue's neck and legs. He slowly, lifted the two up in his arms, focusing on the support and strenght of the metal around him. He carried Rogue and the little boy out from the experiments room and back to the tunnel which they were going to use to escape. He had to use a lot of support from the metal around him to keep him going.

Finally, he reached the ladders where he found a problem. All the mutants had escaped, including the two X-Men which was good, however, Magneto knew he was going to find it a struggle getting both Rogue and the boy up the ladders.

"Magneto." Magneto looked up to see the voice had come from Cyclopse.

"A little assistance would be appreshiated." Magneto said.

Cyclopse slid down the ladders and Magneto stepped back. Cyclopse turned around seeing both Rogue and the little boy curled up together in Magneto's arms. "Take the boy, he's just unconsious."

"What about Rogue?" Cyclopse asked.

"Shot." Magneto said in utter disguest.

"You sure you'll be able to carry her?"

Magneto looked down at Rogue. Her eyes were closed now and her face was pressed into his chest. He could feel she was still alive, but she needed medical treatment. "Fine, take Rogue and get her to saftey. I'll handle the boy."

Cyclopse took Rogue from Magneto, then throw her over his shoulders which caused Rogue to moan a little. Magneto's eyes widened as his temper fleared at how rough Cyclopse was being with Rogue. "Sorry." He said as he began climbing the ladder. Magneto followed up the ladder.

They weren't in the clear yet though as there were sill soliders aiming and shoting guns. Cyclopse stopped, gasping as he was half way out of the tunnel with Rogue when he heard the gun shots. The shots that should have hit him, bounced off an invisable wall though. "Hurry Scott." Called Jean in his mind.

Cyclopse didn't need to be told twice. He climbed up the rest of the way and made a run for the helicoptor with Magneto shortly behind.

In the helicoptor, Cyclopse put Rogue down on the floor and Magneto placed the boy besides her. "Did you set the bomb?" Magneto asked Cyclopse and Jean. They both nodded their heads. "Good, then lets not be here when it goes off."

Cyclopse hurried to the controls of the helicoptor and began lift off. Jean still reflected bullets long enough for them to get away. Magneto's attention was drawn to Rogue though. He moved to the back of the helicoptor, finding a first aid kit and moved back to Rogue. He cleaned out her wound and was just about to wrap up her wound with a bandage to stop the bleeding when there was a loud explotion. Magneto had to stop what he was doing and twisted his head till he could see the place where he had been tortured like numourious others exploded into little bits.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Magneto looked to the seat besides him. He had hardly noticed that Pyro had been saved amongest the prisoners. He should have known. Should have remembered. But Pyro didn't seem to realise that he had been forgotten. He looked to Magneto with somewhat of a relaxed smile on his face. They were both finally free.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter Twenty-Three**

Rogue had been in and out of consiousness all the way to the next base. There were no mutants to free in the second base, just the X-Men whom they picked up. Rogue hurried (and felt) Magneto take control and order the X-Men (and control the Jet) so they went straight to the first camp. There were mutants that were being saved from the first camp. They were being loaded up into the long truck Wolverine had drove down.

"Team two, go and help team one." Magneto commanded. "You, Night Crawler, bring Wolverine here!" They all looked a little unsure. "Now!" But hearing Magneto yell kicked them all into gear and they were on the move.

Within one minute, Wolverine appeared in a poof of blue smoke in front of Magneto and Rogue. "What the-" Wolverine started.

"Wolverine, touch Rogue!" Magneto command.

Wolverine took in the scene before him. Magneto was on his knees in front of Rogue, putting pressure on Rogue's stomach. Rogue had a bandage wrapped around her middle. There was a little bit of blood that leaked through the bandage, but most of it had stopped as Magneto had stictched Rogue's wound to stop the bleeding and help the healing. Wolverine looked at Rogue who looked like she was having a blinking fit as she kept coming in and out of consiousness.

"I've gotta get those kids back to safety." Wolverine said. He didn't much like being told what to do.

"If you don't touch her, she might die." Said Magneto.

"Those kids might die-"

"They have the others. They shall be fine." And against him will, Wolverine felt Magneto force his arm forwards so that he touched Rogue's check. Wolverine fell to his knees and collapsed. Rogue woke up with a jolt. She felt Wolverine's energy rushing through her veins. Then, felt the empty space in her chest start to fill. All Wolverine's thoughts and memories ran through her mind; his hurt, his betrayel over her kissing Magneto, but most of all his distress as he saw her lieing on the floor, pale white.

XXXXX

Rogue had passed out once again on the X-Jet to wake up in quite a noisy room full of people. Rogue sat up, rubbing her head as she took everything in. She was back in Magneto's metal base, in the hosiptal wing where a lot of beds were pushed together just to fit in more people. Rogue watched as doctors and other members of the X-Men ran up and down, checking on patients and getting them the treatment they needed. Rogue climbed off the bed, feeling she was just taking up space as she knew she was perfectly fine from Wolverine's healing powers.

Rogue began walking down the allies, looking at the injured. Some had large brusing, some had deep cuts and scars. Other's were missing parts of their bodies, just has Rogue had been missing most of her skin when she first managed to escape the hell hole. It had held quickly over time and a lot faster with Wolverine's healing factor (their was still some scars though that could never go away). Rogue looked, up and down the allies, until she came across the colourful mutant.

"Rogue." She gasped happily. The little girl crawled from underneath her covers towards Rogue. Jen stood up at the end of her bed and wrapped her arms around Rogue's middle. "I'm so happy your awake." She said with a quiet tear rolling down her face.

Rogue smiled warmly. She hadn't felt this touched since... Well, she guessed since Magneto had taken her in and understood her and her story and was nice to her. She knew how this little girl felt and she was happy she could give her this feeling of being safe and cared for.

"I'm happy your safe too kiddo. And I know someone else who's gonna be happy to know your safe and sound."

The girl looked up to Rogue from where she hugged her. "You really know my poppa?"

"Yes, I do sugar. He helped me and a friend out this one time, and I promised him I'd find you and get you back to him safe and sound for helpin' us. Now, he gave me his number just before we parted and I'm sure I'll be able to dig it up somewhere and have him come meet us so he can get ya." Jen's smile grew into a full tooth smile as she squeezed Rogue tighter. "Thank you." And then she began to cry.

Rogue held her for as long as she could, then said that she'd go find that number now to escape from the child's grasp. As she passed the X-Men though, she noticed they all had somewhat a look of pride and a smirk to their faces. Rogue didn't understand why they seemed so...nice to her. Then Kitty happened.

"Awww, you were so sweet with that girl. You've managed to put a smile on her face. She's so cute. Nice job." Then she was gone.

Was that why they were all giving her nice looks? Because she was nice to a child? Sometimes, she didn't understand people. There was still stuff between them all which hadn't been sorted out yet and from the rate things were going, Rogue doubted they'd ever be sorted out.

Rogue left the hospital wing. She wasn't sure where she was going, but she knew she didn't want to be there. The little girl was sweet, but there was just too many people and too much presure. Rogue soon found herself back in the wreck room where she and Magneto had played chest. Now it was filled with mutants that weren't as badly injured or tromatiesed by what had just happened to them (newly captures). Rogue left the wreck room, going into the kitchen and finding mutants there. They were everywhere and all she wanted was some peace. Atlas, she headed up to the surface which she knew would be a bad and dangerous idea, but she was willing to take that risk for some quiet time.

Rogue sneaked out of the base, convincing the mutants on patronl on the door that she wasn't going far and would stay hidden. They'd not been happy, but they didn't completely know she wasn't appart of the main X-Men body. All they knew was that she made the plans and was, therefore, somewhat of a leader on this whole thing. So they let her out.

She climbed a tree and sat in it. For hours that felt like moments, Rogue just massaged her head, calming the voices and thinking things over. One thought came to mind over and over again, until the though became too annoying to ignore. Rogue wanted to know what ad how Magneto had responded to the camp.

Later, as the sun was setting, Rogue climbed down the tree and reentered the base. It had become quieter now and the hallways and rooms less packed. Rogue searched the building, looking for one person. She found that person in his small cell like room. Rogue knocked on the door before opening it. She found Magneto just lay on his bed, looking up to the ceiling, thinking. There were three little metal balls in the air, dancing around each other as he pondered. He didn't eve seem to realise Rogue was there.

"Is this a bad time?" Rogue asked.

"No." Said Magneto. "What's wrong Rogue?" He asked.

"Nothing. I just came to see if you wanted another game of chest." Magneto eyed Rogue suspisiouly. Rogue just looked back unfazed by his look. It was a last minute lie but it was a white one.

"Not tonight I'm afraid. Anything else?" He asked.

Rogue shuck her head. She wasn't sure what her answer to her question was, but she didn't want to just come out with the questions. Not seeing anything else to keep them talking, Rogue turned and was about to leave.

"You never told me we were going to that base. But I have the idea that you were setting me up for some reason. What, pray tell, might that have been?"

Rogue twisted and looked at Magneto. For a long moment they just gazed at each other. "Your a cleaver man Magneto. You haven't figured it out yet?"

"I would like to here the answer from you."

Rogue turned in the door way so her body was facing him. She leaned against the door as she went into explination."We both know why I did it. That's the second time you've been in a death camp. The first time you escaped you regreated not going back, freeing the other poor souls and then blowing the place up into little tiny pieces. I gave you the chance to do that the second time around. How do you feel now?"

Magneto studied Rogue for a little longer. At the moment he felt in shock, not at the topic of their conversation but at what he kept forgetting. Everytime he looked at Rogue he saw himself in her stip of white hair, but each time it was as if a part of him forgot that she knew him so well from the memories she absorbed from him. And then she would do or say something that would shock him yet, show him clarity.

Magneto thought of how to answer her. He was a little bit edgy with her after realising she'd set him up. He didn't know what her motives were and he still didn't. Though, he guessed he'd have to give information to gain information.

"At the time I was angry. Mad, destructive."

Rogue nodded her head. "Yeah. I know. I saw that."

"Now... I feel only a little satisfied knowing that that camp is gone. But I am not stupid enough nor naive enough to rest in peace as they will simply build more camps and fill them up with more mutants. The war began a while ago and we are right in the middle of it. However, some are only just coming to realise we are in war now. It gives less hope to those of us who've seen this coming from the start. To those of us willing to fight and put our lifes on the line already. I fear we may be destoryed in numbers before we make any good difference."

Rogue folded her arms, seeming rather iritated. "Oh come on Magneto. Don't tell meh ya goin' all soft and defeaten on meh."

Magneto glared at Rogue as if she had tried to attack him. "The Magneto I know would have said, even if we are low in numbers, mutants are still dangerous and it'd only take, I don't know, one ta take down a thousand humans. You can't just go givin' up now that it seems we've hit rock bottom. Ya know this ain't rock bottom. This is boreder line safe in a war. And an attitude like that, you knows gonna get you killed. I took you to that camp to relight something within you. I hoped it would work, but maybe I was wrong. Maybe it's finally happened. Maybe the great Magneto, master of magnitism, has finally been broken and defeated."

"You dare question me?" Yelled Magneto at Rogue in outrage. "I recall it was me resueing you after you foolishly was shot for not looking over your shoulder."

Rogue, as scared as she was from having Magneto's rage aimed at her, kept her chin up high and turned to exit. "Your weak and not the man I thought you were."

Just as Rogue was about to step away, there was a tight grip around her arm stopping her from going anywhere. She was pulled back by a harsh grip and felt her back slab into the door frame. Magneto's body was so close to hers and his anger was pouncing off him. Rogue was out of breath even though she hadn't done anything. The heat rised between them and before they knew it, they were embracing each other in an aggressive kiss. Rogue felt herself lift up at the waist and she came to saddle Magneto's hips as he pressed harder into her.

After a moments pasted, Magneto dropped Rogue moving away from her; bent over from dizziness and faintness. Rogue got her breath (and footing) back and straighted up. "There..." She breathed. "There he is...The man I was looking for..." And with that, Rogue turned and left knowing she'd just won a tiny war and added something to her plot to take down Sinister.

XXXXX

"Hey Logan." Came a female voice.

Wolverine knew who it was before she even spoke.

"What do you want Rogue?" He growled with a cigar in his mouth.

Rogue moved from the shadowed tree towards him. She'd found him very far away from the base. "You plannin' on runnin' again?" Rogue asked.

"What do you care?" Snapped Wolverine.

"You know you can't abandon the team Logan. Not now when they need you. Not when Jean needs you."

Wolverine seemed to twitch at this as he turned to glare at Rogue from the corner of his eye. "You been looking through my mind?"

"Yes and no. I looked through you mind ages ago. Not much has changed, I can tell that without even looking." Wolverine grumbled and turned away from her."But I know there is something your missing."

"You blaming the Professor again?"

"It is his fault that you can't remember me Logan. I know it is."

"Drop it Rogue. I know all I need to know."

"But you don't know about us do you?" Rogue said gently.

"There is no us." Wolverine said with a firm snap in his tone.

"Your not sure about that though, are you." She spoke the truth, but he wouldn't let it show. He didn't answer her. Simply took another drag of his cigar. "You feel something for me. Some old strong past feeling for me that you don't understand." Rogue paused to see Wolverine's face. It was half lit up in the moon light. Rogue felt herself depressed at what she was about to say and do, but she would rather sacrife whatever feelings she had for Wolverine than to see him hurt. " We were close in the past. Very close." Rogue stepped to come besides him. Wolverine looked don at her. Thoughts going through his head that were disterbing, yet oddly pleasing as Rogue spoke. "But we weren't together... You didn't want me. Not like that."

Wolverine took in the twinkle in Rogue's eye and understood the situation somewhat. He turned away and took another drag of his cigar. "You loved me?" Said Wolverine as if it was nothing.

"I still do." Rogue said gently. "But our love's complicated. Our relationship's kinda like father/daughter, though, it's not. Ever since we met, you took care of me and saved me numerious times. You were always looking out for me,"He was suprized to see her chuckle."Even when my Ex, Bobby, came onto the scene, you put him in his place just to make sure I wouldn't get hurt. It was nice havin' ya around. When you were around. Just having you be there for me and look out for me." Her smile fell."Losing you... Was one of the worse feelings in the world... Yeah, pain and torture might be bad, but knowing that I didn't have you in my life anyone to help me... It almost broke me for a time...Losing you was like losing my home again. Losing hope... I could live without the mansion, but it was you who made it a home for me."

Finally Wolverine and Rogue looked at each other. Some deep connection flashing between them. Then Rogue looked up to the moon again as she spoke. "Now you know...Those feelings you have for me. Those unknown feelings...They're not like the one's you've got for Jean Grey."

Wolverine turned away from Rogue, looking down to the ground feeling guilty.

"If I can't have you Logan. Then I think it's fair I take control of my on life and find someone or something else that I can have and that'll want me back."

"And you think that person's Magneto?" Cracked Wolverine.

"You've not been inside his mind Logan." Rogue turned to look at him. "I have."

Rogue then turned and left.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

There was another meeting three days later after Rogue woke up. Over those three days Rogue had kept to herself thinking. Just thinking of what was to happen. Her feelings ranged from scared, upset, worry and anger. She had to make sure she had a straight face and a that her body language was somewhat normal or else they would expect something.

Rogue looked behind her. She was sat in that tree again, just thinking. She sure she felt someone's eyes on her. Someone watching her. But there was no one there. Not that she could see.

"Miss Rogue." Called a sweet voice from below her. Rogue looked down at Jen. "They wantcha in the meeting room."

Rogue climbed down and walked back to the base with Jen. Jen was a mix of emotions herself. Happy to be out of that cell and safe here, and upset she couldn't go home just yet because her father couldn't give her the same protection of the rebels could. Rogue patted the girls shoulder and the girl smiled up at her.

Rogue went to the meeting and, again, dominated the meeting with plans of how to take Sinister and his camps down. The rebelion keep going and breaking put mutant prisons, destorying the camps behind them. There numbers grew as they saved and restored more and more mutants back to health and they joinned in with the fight. But as they grew stronger, so did Sinister and the Sentinals.

Rogue had kept to herself for quite a while now, having the odd game of chest with Magneto and a few beers with Wolverine, but she couldn't help but feel watched. It was as if there were a pair of invisable eyes that shifted over her and her body. And she kept feeling a presence in her head. With that feelings, she went to Emma straight away, telling her to keep the Professor out of her head. Emma would sometimes say it wasn't the Professor in her head and Rogue was just ponder if she was going mad. But if she was then she had a pretty good reason to.

As Sinister's robots started to get stronger and capture more and more of the mutant freedom fighters and humans working alongside the mutants to help them, Rogue began to feel her calling. It was time. As always Rogue planned a meeting with the other head freedom fighters and she led the mission in the way she wanted.

Rogue had placed herself with a group of mutants whom weren't as strong as the X-Men or Magneto and his Brotherhood. She had set them up for failure almost, but they still had a fighting chance. Rogue made the plan for them and watched from a far as the mutants began to trigger the alarms of the camp and get inside. As Rogue stood there on the hill looking down at the camp and the five mutants trying seperatly to fight back against the Sentinals, Rogue turned and left.

XXXXX

"What!" Wolverine yelled, slamming his fist down on the table.

"She's a trator! We never should have trusted her in the first place." Said Cyclopse.

"We must not be rash in our beliefs! Rogue may have had a good reason to fee or perhaps-" The Professor tried.

"She let innocent mutants die!" Snapped Cyclopse.

"Prehaps that was her plan." Said Magneto, cold and distant. All looked to him.

"What do you know about this?" Growled Wolverine.

"I know nothing of what Rogue plans and does. However I do know how to play chest-"

"That's brilliant Magneto, but we ain't interested in your games." Wolverine snapped.

"But don't you see Wolverine? This is a game." All the leading members of the rebelation went quiet. "Me and my dear Rogue once played a game of chest not so long ago. A game of chest which she won and which I saw something click behind those bright eyes of hers."

"What are you getting at?" Asked Cyclopse.

"What I'm saying is Cyclopse is that Rogue is simply playing a game of chest. She has formed a plan and has seen her opening. However to gain that opening, she needed to make sacrifes."

"Erik, are you saying that you knew of Rogue's plans?" Asked the Professor.

"I knew not of her stratages. Not even after we planned our next moves. Rogue and I have played may games of chest and I'm sure she decided to mix up some of her moves making it hard to understand how she was playing. But what I am saing Charles is that it is most likely she has gone after Sinister."

"And Rogue knows where he is?" Asked Storm.

"I do not know. But if she doesn't then she will soon enough." Finished Magneto.

"When what are we to do about this? Are we just suppose to leave her on her own?" Asked Storm.

"No. I will use Cerbro and try finding her before anything bad might happen." Said the Professor. "Though this will be hard to do and I will need all the assisstence I can. Emma you will help me and Jean- Where is Jean?"

All the X-Men looked around the room.

"She is most likely seeing to the injuried with Hank. There are other psychics Professor. Perhaps they can help." Said Storm.

The Professor, however, had a surspisious look in his eye.

XXXXX

As Magneto had guessed, Rogue was now sneaking along the corridor to Sinister's hidden underground base. It had been hard to get in without Sinster knowing she was there, but after she took out a solider in the forest surrounding the base, she was able to know the switching times of all the guards, know where all the traps were and slipped inside the hidden door without getting spotted by the camera. Rogue took out more of the soliders, hurrying through the halls to get to Sinister, avoiding new traps she learnt of from other soliders until she was outside of the Experiment's Room.

Rogue sucked in a deep breath, pulling up the strengh to face _him_ after so long and so much... On three she kicked open the door, and with a gun in hand stepped in, looking all around and finding Sinister in the middle of the room leaning over a mutant's naked and cut up body. The mutant was shaking.

"Hello my dear." He said, so casually with no sound of fear in his voice as he smiled while taking off his white mask. "I've been expecting you for some time now. How is my favourt test subject?"

Rogue was shaking. Just seeing him again frightened her so much that her mind went blank and she couldn't remember way she was there.

Sinister put down his tools and casually, with his arms behind his back moved towards Rogue. As Rogue realised what he was doing, she lifted the gun up higher to his head. But Sinister had come to stop right in front of her with the gun reflecting in the red jew on his head. "You wont shot me Rogue. We both know this. You want to, so desperatly want to, but you can't. Not because you don't have the will power, hatered or longing to kill me, but because you know that you can't servive without me. That day you were captured was the day the old Rogue died and my Rogue was born. You are mine Rogue and you have always been mine." His words slivered around her and hooked into her as a violent parteners words work on their victom. "You will do what I tell you to Rogue. And I'm telling you to put down the gun."

Rogue's control and power in her arms flauntered as her arms fell down for a moment, but she soon had a wave of anger and corage rush through her as she reaimed the gun at Sinister's head. Sinister frowned for the first time.

"She isn't yours Sinister." Came a female voice from the shadows of the door way. Sinister turned to see a woman dressed all in red with red firery hair step into the room. Her eyes were darker than space. "She's mine."


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

"I wouldn't do that Rogue." Said Jean Grey in a cold, lay back voice.

Both Rogue, and Sinister, were startled. Sinister always expected Rogue, but never this woman. He'd seen her before on TV doing presetations for mutant rights, but the way she was speaking now. Both Rogue and Sinister put it together that something was amis.

"J-Jean? What are ya doin' here!" Rogue demanded.

Jean just slowly stepped forwards, looking unmoved and rather bored, yet there was also a little of fiest determination in her eye.

"If you take out the head then you will ruin any chance of regathering control as all the Sentianl robots will go into an automatic mode where they will continue, non stop to capture, lock up and kill mutants and humans alive." said Jean Grey.

Rogue was stund. But refocused and reenforced her grip on her gun and bettered her aim at Sinister. "Your on his side now!" Rogue yelled, demanding. She was scared, riding off the adrening rush she had and not thinking straight. Apart of her did take in Jean's point though and she knew what she had said was just a reaction to do with her mood.

Jean Grey looked very dissapointed. She stopped where she was. "I thought you were smarter than that." Said Jean. Her head tilted to the side as she took in Rogue from a different angle. "From all the trickery, plots and sneakiness you've done over the past year." Jean's eyes glowed a dangerous black with a ring of blood red around the iris. Both Sinister and Rogue were on edge.

Then, in a struggle, the eyes changed back to Jean Grey's normal calm brown eyes; but there was great fear and panic in them. "Rogue." She breathed.

Rogue's breathing was ragided. What was happening to Jean? Why wasn't she shooting Sinister? Nothing should be stopping her!

"Rogue." Breathed Jean again, sounding tired and as if she was fighting against her own body. "Run."

"What?" Rogue asked confused.

"Rogue you have to run. I don't..." Jean's body shuck as Jean kelded over as if she was about to be sick. Both Sinister and Rogue took a step back in fear it would be something else. "I don't know... how long...I can control it." Breathed Jean.

"Con-Control what?" Questioned Jean.

"You have to run Rogue...! It...It wants to destory you... To destory... threat." Jean let out a little yell of pain as her body shuck.

"Jean?" Rogue breathed, now dropping her aim at Sinister. Rogue didn't know if to go to Jean or to run in the other direction or shot Sinister. Everything was going wrong. "What? What the hell are you talking about? Who wants to destory me? What-"

Jean's bad straightened and those cold distent eyes were back. "Stupid girl. You still have not figured it out."

"Figured what out?" Yelled Rogue in her anger.

"It wasn't Charles Xavier who wiped their memories of you." Said Jean Grey, as she slowly began walking around the room; walking on the other side of the table that had the mutant still on it. Jean looked down at the mutant, not having much sympathy for the boy what so ever.

Rogue was completely bathled. "What? H-He, yes, yes he did!-"

"Stupid girl!" Snapped Jean Grey, now glaring at Rogue. "He wasn't the only psychic in the house!"

Slowly, Rogue began to put piece and piece together, not sure if she could believe it or not after so long of blaming and believing so hardly and harshly that it was the Professor who had done this to her. "J-Jean... It was you."

Something sparked behind Jean's eyes. A flicker of the sorrfow Jean grey.

"I-I'm sorry. But it was the only w-'

Something else snapped in Jean. "Yes, it was Jean Grey!" Snapped Jean whom began pacesting with rage. "Jean Grey used her psychic abilities to control those perfetic mortals in that mansion and bend them to her will; manipulating them into doing as she please which was to remove you away from me!" Rogue and Sinister began to back slowly away as Jean progressed towards Rogue. Sinister slipped away from both of them and hid in the shadows. Rogue, with her mind completely flipped on her didn't realise Sinister had vanished. Her focus was on Jean. A thousand questions coming to mind, but Rogue not having a clue what any of them were. It was all too much too soon and she was so confused.

"But...But why?" Stuttered Rogue, that being the only thing she could thing of.

Jean's eyes darkened again, but this time there was a wicked smile pulling at her features. "Why? Oh little girl you are very slow."

Rogue stared horrified into Jean's eyes, another question burning on her tongue. "Jean... W-What's w-wrong with your eyes? W-what's wrong with you?" Stuttered Rogue.

Jean chuckled."Very slow indeed." Jean raised her arms out wide and a very strong guest of wind appeared, knocking both Rogue and Sinister back into the wall. Rogue lost sight of Jean for the time, but she heard a crack of lighting. Was Storm here? Rogue though. But as she looked up, tears in her eyes from the wind, Rogue saw that Jean had risen from the ground and was flying in the air, laughing evily and looking down at Rogue. "I am Phionex!" Said Jean.

Rogue watched in terror at the powers Jean (or Phoinex) was showing. Strong air whipped her red hair wildly, making it look like fire. Her eyes burned dark and deep like an abyss and her facial features almost looked demonised as she smiled wickly. Then, it stopped. Jean throw back her head, moaning in pain then dropped to the floor, clasping, it seemed. Rogue was frozen to the spot.; too scared to get any closer to Jean.

Both her and Sinister just watched Jean from the shadows. Till, finally, Jean began to move. Jean turned onto her stomach, rolling around, moaning in pain as she tried to sit up with a dizzy head and sight. Jean appeared to be gazing around, unsure where she was or what she was doing. Then she saw Rogue and she remembered.

'Rogue.' Breathed Jean. And, to Rogue's utter shock and suprize which she never thought she would see, Jean began to cry. "Rogue, I'm-I'm sorry. I... I can't keep control. I-I...' Jean cringed in pain.

"Jean." Breathed Rogue, hearing how quiet she had gone from utter shock. "Jean." Rogue spoke louder. "What the hells going on!" Demanded Rogue.

Jean looked back up to Rogue, tears filling her eyes more. Jean was really struggling to do anything. Rogue straightened up, not seeing much threat in this weak Jean, but still really cauious of her. 'You...You took away their memories of me? Why?'

That was something easier for Jean to explain. Jean gluped down her hard breath, then began saying, 'You-You have a chance... At defeating the Phionx...At least. For Now... With your powers... Powers of absotion... Rogue it wants to kill you! Play with you. Toy with you. Then kill you. To get rid of you, so you can't, won't, stand in it's way. Won't stop it from being free.'

'What want's to kill me Jean? What?'

'It's-It's names the Phionx...I...I-' Jean cringed in pain again. 'I'm so sorry Rogue. I didn't mean to...to make them abandon you.' Another yelp and cringe of pain. 'I was just trying to protect you.'

'Protect me? Protect me from what?' Yelled Rogue.

But Jean was gone. And Phionx had appeared. Jean wrapped her long strong fingers around Rogue's neck, stopping Rogue from breathing instantly. Rogue gasped as The darkness came back to Jean's eyes and her breath was taken away from her. 'Me,' said Jean.

Then, Rogue was thrown back. Backwards and out of the building. Busting through wall after wall Rogue hit the garden outside hard as she landed. Jean had thrown Rogue away with so much strength that she bearly had to move her wrist. Rogue cried out on the ground. Her ribs and other bones were broken and her cut open head was the least of what to worry about as Rogue saw black spots clouding her vision as the impact was killing her brain.

Rogue was focused on her pain for her last moments, but in the faint background she hurried the yells of,

'Rogue.' and 'Jean.'

...

Next thing Rogue knew there were bright flashes of memories. Familiar painful memories. Memories of fighting Sabretooth and bar fights, and being experimented on and saving a girl with a newly white strip in her hair. Rogue's eyes shot open as she felt the pull and invation of another person's power and energy. Sitting up, all her injuries gone, Rogue saw Wolverine passed out on the grass besides her.

Having just recovered from near death, Rogue had missed the part where the Phoenix had begun toying with the X-Men. Now, however, it realised the Rogue was alive again and free to move as she pleased. The Phoenix's attention shifted and was now aimed at Rogue. Luckily for Rogue, she was grabbed harshly by Magneto and pulled to the side where Phoenix's fire ball missed her. Magneto tried to put up a magnetic field to protect them, but Rogue, in her short yet quick intake, saw him about to collapse from the power of the phoenix. Rogue's instincts set into gear as she stood up, a little dizzy (but pushed that to the side) and tackled Magneto to the ground, out of the way of the Phoenix's attack.

Rogue, began dragging the limp body of Magneto towards a half destoried brick wall for shelter, although it wasn't very good shelter. While she did this, the X-Men began another assult on the Phoenix, temperaily slowling it down. It wasn't long enough to really help the two, but in that time Magneto had gotten a little more of his strength back and dodged out of the next attack of the phoenix.

Rogue hid more behind the brick wall, trying to take cover and get her head together and in the looked around, seeing even the X-Men attacking the Phoenix. Something wasn't right with Jean Grey. Rogue remembered normal Jean (or whatever that was) telling her that the phoenix was scared of her powers. Well it didn't take a genious to figure out what that meant. Just needed a plan to get up close to Jean without getting thrown aside again and possibly dieing.

Rogue managed to get out from the collapsing rubble wall as the X-Men attacked Jean Grey again. Rogue ran back into the building, having some idea how to stop Jean. The loud bangs from outside did scare Rogue a little and have her questioning what was going on, but she was focusing on one thing. Rogue came back into the room she had confronted Sinister in. Moving into the shadows, Rogue attempted to hide.

A hand with sharp claws for finger nails wrapped around Rogue's neck. From behind her se felt, rather than saw the body who had come up behind her. 'My dear Rogue.' Sinister. Rogue began kicking and thrusting, trying to escape, when she felt Sinster press something bunt and stiff into her back. Thsound of a gun reloading was hurred. Sinister bega making shushing noses in Rogue's ear as he moved them backwards, futher into the darkness. Rogue's heart leaped with fright. She was terrified. Terrified she'd been captured again and was going to end up going back there. she didn't care if she lived or died, she would never go back to Sinister's hell. Rogue kept struggling and struggling against Sinister. Either, due to their own struggles, hurried or paid attention to Jean Grey when she came into the room, covered in large flames.

Both Sinister and Rogue were thrown back by the power of the force Jean was vibrating off of her. Both stared with large open eyes at Jean who looked beautifully enraged in the middle of that fire. Jean Grey had had enough. She raise her arm, and fire raised with it. Rogue and Sinister, not being stupid enough to not understand what was happening, both jumped out of the blasted. The blast of fire, made the building shaky and ready to collapse as Jean Grey took out another wall (or few) and set heavy fire to the building.

Rogue saw her chance she had been originally planning and waiting for. While Jean was busy looking at Sinister to find where abouts Rogue was, Rogue pulled off her glove while running and jumping at Jean, outstreaching her arm and grabbing onto Jean for dear life.

Jean Grey screamed in agony and went mad. Swinging her arms around, trying to get Rogue off her back, only set more fire to the building surrounding them and knocked down more walls, making it less safe. While she did this, Jean's energy slowly slipped away and Jean's thoughts slowly began entering Rogue's mind..


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

Rogue awoke screaming, and panting as sweat leaked all down her face and body. There was a person in front of her calling her name. It was Wolverine. He had her craydled in his arms and was shaking her to wake up. When she finally did, she felt the panic slowly leave her, but her heart was still racing.

"W-What happened?"

"You touched Jean and weakened her enough for chuck to calm her down and help her get herself under control." Said Wolverine. Rogue looked passed Wolverine to Magneto who was stood somewhat near them, but with his back turned. She looked from Magneto and Wolverine to the scene before her. Jean was still unconscious in Cyclpose's arms. Little things started coming back to Rogue, but as she tried to think more on the topic her head started hurting. Badly.

"Arrr." She cringed in Wolverine's arms while reaching to touch her head.

"Rogue?" Said Wolverine.

Rogue unconsciously went to access Jean's mind, but for some reason it burned and clawed as if it was actually fighting against Rogue to be set free.

'_I'm_ _in your mind Rogue, but only to help you_.'

'_Professor_?' Rogue questioned in her mind.

She felt the Professor's presence in her mind and then she felt this hot pain slowly melt away and go as if it was being contained and locked away somewhere deep in her mind.

"There." Said the Professor.

Rogue opened her eyes, still sweaty and breathing heavily. Her tired eyes found the Professor who was now besides her with Magneto and Wolverine.

"Pro-professor?" Rogue manage. The Professor, himself, looked tired with sweat pouring down his face. He looked like he'd just been to war (twice). Rogue noticed it again. There was no more pain in her mind. "Thank you." Rogue breathed.

The Professor nodded his head. "Your most welcome Rogue. I'm sorry I broke our promise of staying out of your mind."

"I-It's OK. I found out today who the real person was who sent me away." At that life changing thought, Rogue began rubbing her head again and sat up out of Wolverine's arms.

"What do you mean kid?" Asked Wolverine.

"Errr," Roue said dumbfoundly. "I mean I know it wasn't the Professor."

"How do you know it wasn't the Professor?" Asked Magneto.

"Jean, errr, Phoenix told me before she attacked me. She said Jean got rid of me and wiped all your memories of me so the Phoenix, errr, that dark side of her today couldn't get to meh. 'Cause."

"Because if it knew about you it would try to kill you." Finished the Professor for Rogue who was still feeling sick, light headed and dizzy.

"Errr, yeah."

"It was affriad that you might be able to match it's powers." Added Magneto, putting two and two together.

Rogue looked and felt disappointed. "But I wouldn't be able to stop it, even if I really wanted to. Jean still had half control over the Phoenix. I wouldn't be able to stop the Phoenix if it had full control."

"What you talking about strips. You got things sorted in the end. But I don't have a clue what your going on about with this Phoenix crap." Said Wolverine.

"The Phoenix is a being inside Jean which is known to be the most powerful being in the universe." Everyone had stopped to listen to the Professors conversation.

"What are you saying Professor?" Asked Storm. "What is this being?"

"This being is the Phoenix which we have had a glimps of today. The controllable side of Jean Grey today."

"So it was that Phoenix's things fault, not Jean's? Jean had no control over it?" Cyclopse asked, with hope in his voice.

"No Scott. That wasn't Jean. While the Phoenix took over Jean's body, Jean was lost to us."

Cyclopse's face dropped. "You mean that this thing has taken over Jean's body and made her a prisoner inside her own body?" Questioned Cyclopse.

"How do you know so much about this Professor?" Asked Rogue, suspiously.

"I read it in your mind Rogue. The part of your mind which you have taken from Jean Grey and in you mind her psych explained this to me while she and I pushed the Phoenix to the back of your mind."

"Oh." Said Rogue. Rogue was too tired and in too much pain to pay much more attention now.

"Will it be back?" Asked Cyclopes.

The Professor's face fell. "I'm not sure. But I do believe there is a very strong possibility we will be facing the Phoenix again in the future."

Everyone took that as a yes. Cyclopes looked down to Jean; pain ridden as he saw how tired and stranded she was already. "But...But." He looked up and towards Rogue. "Rogue. Couldn't she stop this thing? Can't you take it away from her Professor." Asked Cyclopes, now looking towards the Professor.

"As Rogue already said, she would be no match for the true Phoenix's power and I have been trying for may years, without success, to remove this being from her body Scott. I'm afraid all I can do is help Jean push it back and search for ways in which to help remove it from her body."

"How long have you known about this this thing Professor?" Asked Cyclopes in disgust.

"Since I meet her. I didn't know what it was exactly, but now I know more. I have more to go off to help Jean now. We will disgust is more later, for now let us take our leave before the police come."

Rogue felt herself lifted up into Wolverine's arms. It shuck her awake. Slowly, as Wolverine began carrying her towards the X-Jet, she took in what was happening and looked around. When she saw Magneto still standing tall, with his cape wiping in the wind and his head turned to look out towards the world, as if facing the hardships which were to come something clicked in Rogue's mind. Sinister was still out there. The world was in cause and lose. She knew the X-Men's approach was too weak to win this war. She knew they wouldn't' accept killing. And she knew she till had to kill Sinister and make him suffer. From the Phoenix's speech too, she knew she'd have to do something horrible which shed hate and that was to drain Sinister of every nasty little thought he had to find missing mutants and save their lifes. She knew the only person who would understand her roll and new find reason in this life was Magneto.

"No." Rogue weakly said. Struggling against Wolverine, she tired to push half out of Wolverine's arms and come to her feet.

"Relax strips-"

"No, put me down Logan!"

Wolverine did what she said with a growl in the back of his throat. Everyone stopped to watch Rogue as she rocked on her feet. Slowly, she walked towards Magneto. His followers who had come with the X-Men and seen that Magneto was standing still, separating himself from the X-Men, began to move to the side to let her pass. Magneto had turned face her. She kept eye contact with him until she was stood by his side, facing him eye to eye.

"I don't belong with the X-Men. Not then, not now, maybe not even n the future." Rogue looked out to all of Magnetos followers and the X-Men. Rising her voice she poke, "I'm gonna be the one to find that scumball Sinister and I'm gonna be the one to end his life and this miserable life us mutants are living in cause of him. I'm the only one who can do it, 'cause I'm the only who can get into his mind and find out where our fellow mutant brothers and sisters are and how shut down the Sentinel robots. We're a war and ya'll know that." Rogue paused, feeling at faintness making her weaker d making a simple thing as standing harder."I know you X-Men want peace and all, but what I need to do ain't gonna help your cause much. I'm gonna go with Magneto and be the fighting force that's gonna help us win this war. Your cause is right X-Men. You should keep going with your none violent approaches, but for those that won't and aren't gonna listen, the Brotherhood will sort them out. We al need each other 'cause divided, we'll fall. We've all just gotta chose a side ta help which helps us. N I chose the Broherhood. If ya ever need any help with the Phoenix though, just give us a holler." Rogue gave a polight smile.

The X-Men looked hardfaced about what Rogue had said, but Rogue heard mutters of agreements and OK's. Her world was rocking though, and all she understood was her head was dizzy and she was about to fall. Then she felt an arm wrap around her lower body an a hand on her shoulder. She opened her eyes to find herelf looking at Magneto's chest. Blinking once, she looked up into his helmet. His eyes were soft, but still had that first look to them. Rogue gave a little smile to him. She heard the X-Jet take off and felt the wind whip her hair and Magneto's cape. Closing her eyes, she leaned back into Magneto, not caring if he was bothered about others judging them, because she just didn't care.

She heard Magneto address his followers, giving orders to those who could fly to follow him and those who couldn't to get into the silver spheres he 'd created from broken metal from the building for them to climb into. Rogue looked up at Magneto, something on her tongue burning her and needing to be said.

"Erik." He looked down at her, she felt his arms adjust so she was strongly held up in his arms. "I am gonna be the one ta kill Sinister. Just think how'd you have felt if you'da watched someone else kill those people who locked you up and experimented on you. It felt good to kill them didn't it. Ta get revenge."

Nothing was given away in Magneto's eyes as he looked at her. It was only in what he said next which made Rogue sure that she no longer had to trick him so she could gain the upper hand of killing Sinister (or so she presumed). "As you wish."

The next thing Rogue knew was she was being put into her own special sphere Magneto had made for her and as she sat in the crafted seat and the sphere closed around her, Rogue sat back and slept, feeling safe and somewhat at peace with the new information she had recently found out. She smiled as she slept.


	27. Chapter 27

Hey guys! XD  
>Sorry this isn't another chapter - I hope I haven't irritated you too much.<br>But, I've been wanting to do this for a while now and post my own story on Fiction Press. I was wondering, since you guys were all so great to me here, reviewing and following my work if you wouldn't mind having a read of my first chapter of Crafters and giving me an honest opinion about what you think, because your opinion matters to me.  
>I understand it's cheeky to ask and not like FanFiction, but I would really appreciate it since if I get feedback, I'll be able to change it and make it better than what it was.<br>There is a link below or in my bio. Hope y'all are doing OK and I'll be updating my stories ASAP! XD

u/1049256/M-H-Parkin


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